BX  9178  .R58  S4 
Robinson,  Charles  S. 
Sermons  in  songs 


Sermons  in  Songs 


CHAS.  S.  ROBINSON,  D.D., 


Pastor  0/  the  JSIemorial  Church:,  New   York. 


FUNK   &  WAGNALLS. 

NEW  YORK:  1885.  LONDON: 

10  AND  12  Dey  Street.  44  Fleet  Street. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1885,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington.  D.  C. 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 


THE  title  of  this  volume  was  suggested  by 
the  fact  that  the  texts  were  chosen  from 
the  ''Psalms,  Hymns,  and  Spiritual  Songs"  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  The  sermons 
were  prepared  along  the  course  of  the  author's 
ministrations  during  a  period  of  years.  We  all 
know  that  often  in  work  there  is  worship,  and 
that  sometimes  there  is  preaching  in  praise. 

CHAS.    S.  ROBINSON. 

Memorial  Church,  New  York, 
September  20,   1885. 


VOLUMES   BY   THE   SAME  AUTHOR. 


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Homiletic  expositions  with  illustrations  of  consecutive  pas- 
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SIMON    PETER;    His  Early  Life   and 
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Sermons  biographical  and  practical,  jiicturesq^uely  delin- 
eating the  career  of  this  misunderstood  desciple  of  our 
Lord. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  The  King's  Daughter 9 

"  The  king's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within  ;  her 
clothing  is  of  wrought  gold." — Psalm  45  :  13. 

II.  The  Prince's  Bride 21 

"  She  shall  be  brought  unto  the  king  in  raiment  of 
needlework  ;  the  virgins  her  companions  that  follow 
her  shall  be  brought  unto  thee." — Psalm  45  :  14. 

III.  The  Bride's  Presents 34 

"  And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a 
gift." — Psalm  45  :  12. 

IV.  ''  Folded  Hands" 46 

''  Whereas  it  was  in  thine  heart  to  build  a  house  unto 
my  name,  thou  didst  well  that  it  was  in  thine  heart : 
nevertheless  thou  shalt  not  build  the  house." — i  Kings 
8  :  18,  ig. 

V.  The  "Magnificat"  of  Mary 58 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath 
rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour." — Luke  i  :  46,  47. 

VI.  The   Sermon  on  the  Cross 69 

"  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren  :  in  the 
midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  praise  thee." — Psalm 
22  :  22. 


VI  CONTENTS 

PACE 

VII.  A  Beatitude  Realized 8i 

"  And  when  they  heard  that,  they  lifted  up  their  voice 
to  God  with  one  accord." — Acis  4  :  24. 

VIII.  The  "Gloria  in  Excelsis." 90 

"Glory  to  God   in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good-will  toward  men." — Ztde  2  :  14. 

IX.  Meditation,  Emotion,  Utterance 102 

"  While  I  was  musing,  the  fire  burned  ;  then  spake  I 
with  my  tongue."  —  Psalm  39  :  3. 

X.  The  Reserved  Power  of  God 116 

"  He  had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hand  ;  and  there 
was  the  hiding  of  his  power." — Habakkuk  3  :  4. 

XI.  The  "Nunc  Dimittis"  of  Simeon 12S 

"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  thy  word." — Luke  2  :  29. 

XII.  Resting  in  the  Lord 139 

"  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord  hath 
dealt  bountifully  with  thee." — Psalm  116  :  7. 

XIII.  The  Singers   in  Prison 151 

"  And  at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  sang  praises  unto 
God."^ — Acts  16  :  25. 

XIV.  The  Lateral  Force  of  Prayer 164 

"And  the  prisoners  heard  them." — Acts  16  :  25. 

XV.  Secret  Sins 176 

"  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before  thee,  our  secret 
sins  in  the  light  of  thy  countenance." — Psalm  90  :  8. 


CONTENTS.  vii 


PAGE 


XVI.  The  "Benedictus"  of  Zacharias i86 

"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  ;  for  he  hath  vis- 
ited and  redeemed  his  people." — Luke  i  :  68. 

XVII.  The  First  Psalm i95 

"  For  the  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous  : 
but  the  way  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish."— /"^a/w  i  :  6. 

XVIII.  Getting  Rid   of  Strange  Children 208 

"  Rid  me,  and  deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  strange 

children,  whose  mouth  speaketh  vanity,  and  their  right 
hand  is  a  right  hand  of  falsehood :  that  our  sons  may 
be  as  plants  grown  up  in  their  youth  ;  that  our  daugh- 
ters may  be  as  corner-stones,  polished  after  the  simili- 
tude of  a  palace." — Psalm  144  :  11,  12. 

XIX.  Under  His  Shadow 220 

"  I  sat  down  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight." 
— Solomon! s  Song  2:3. 

XX.  The  Text-Book  in  Affliction 230 

"  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  I 
might  learn  thy  statutes." — Psalm  119  :  71. 

XXI.  Nature  and  Revelation 239 

"The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God;  and  the 
firmament  shovveth  his  handiwork." — Psalm  19  :  i. 

XXII.  The  Availableness  of  Prayer 251 

"  From  the  end  of  the  earth  will  I  cry  unto  thee, 
when  my  heart  is  overwhelmed  :  lead  me  to  the  rock 
that  is  higher  than  I." — Psahn  61  :  2. 

XXIII.  Guidance  by  the  Eye 261 

"  I  will  instruct  thee  and  teach  thee  in  the  way  which 

thou  shalt  go  ;  I  will  guide  thee   with   mine   eye." — 

Psalm  32  :  8. 


via  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XXIV.  The  Eucharist  Hymn 273 

"And  when  they  had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  out 
into  the  mount  of  Olives." — Mark  14  :  26. 

XXV.  God's  Thoughts  of  Us 287 

"  But  I  am  poor  and  needy  ;  yet  the  Lord  thinketh 
upon  me  :  thou  art  my  help  and  my  deliverer  ;  make 
no  tarrying,  O  my  God." — Psalm  40  :  17. 

XXVI.  Off  and  On 299 

"  I  have  put  off  my  coat  ;  how  shall  I  put  it  on  ?" — 
Solomoii  s  Song  5  :  3. 

XXVII.  The  Argument  of  Experience 311 

"  Be  thou  my  strong  rock — for  thou  art  my  rock." — 

Psalm  31  ;  2,  3. 


SERMONS  IN  SONGS. 


THE   KING'S   DAUGHTER. 

"The  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within  ;  her  cloth- 
ing IS  of  wrought  gold." — Psalm  45  :  13. 

The  opening  sentence  of  this  psalm  leads  you 
to  expect  something  unusual,  for  its  author  an- 
nounces it  is  a  "  good  matter"  which  his  heart  is 
inditing.  And  as  you  read  on,  passing  more 
deeply  meanwhile  into  its  interior  meaning,  you 
are  struck  with  its  dignity  and  the  stateliness  of 
its  march.  It  moves  along  with  a  splendor  of 
diction  unwontedly  glowing  and  a  vividness  of 
dramatic  force  gorgeous  and  beautiful.  You  be- 
gin to  anticipate  some  grand  development.  Your 
imagination  is  kindled  by  the  picture  of  this  ex- 
traordinary King.  His  glory  fairly  transcends  lan- 
guage, his  majesty  is  supereminent,  his  kingdom 
stretches  from  shore  to  shore. 

Just  then  suddenly  you  come  upon  that  signifi- 
cant verse,  which  your  memory  recognizes  as 
quoted  in  the  New  Testament,  and  applied  there 
only  to  one  King,  and  to  him  simply  to  prove  his 


lO  SERMONS    IN   SONGS. 


A  new  personage. 


divinity  :  "  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and 
ever  :  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  scep- 
tre." This  settles  the  reference  of  that  part  of  the 
psahii  with  no  further  question.  The  whole  pre- 
diction contained  in  it  must  be  Messianic  ;  it  was 
written  concerning  Jesus  as  the  King  whom  God 
himself  has  anointed  and  crowned  as  his  heir  and 
his  Son. 

But  now,  in  the  midst  of  the  inspired  song,  3'ou 
perceive  an  abrupt  change  in  the  direction  of  the 
thought.  A  new  personage  appears.  A  beautiful 
maiden  enters  upon  the  scene.  She  is  first  ad- 
dressed, and  then  described  ;  addressed  as  wel- 
come and  accepted  in  the  name  of  the  Monarch 
whose  name  she  bears  ;  then  described,  as  if  the 
psalmist  were  catching  a  fresh  fervor  from  the 
vision  of  her  loveliness,  disclosed  to  him  as  he 
speaks.  For  he  exclaims  with  enthusiasm,  grow- 
ing prophetic  as  he  looks  along  the  admiring  ages. 

Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  incline 
thine  ear  ;  forget  also  thine  own  people,  and  thy 
father's  house  ;  so  shall  the  King  greatly  desire  thy 
beauty  :  for  he  is  thy  Lord  ;  and  worship  thou  him. " 

From  this  the  excited  singer  passes  over  into 
description  of  the  bride,  drawing  his  portrait  of 
her  with  a  free  and  friendly  hand,  actually  multi- 
plying epithets  in  order  that  not  so  much  as  one 
point  of  Avhat  seems  to  him  supremely  attractive 
and  admirable  should  escape  notice  from  having 
been  untold  in  the  strains  of  his  music. 

It  is  this  likeness,  Avhich  is  limned  with  such  a 


THE   KING  S   DAUGHTER.  I  I 

Who  is  this  Bride  ?  No  mere  epithalamium. 

master-hand,  that  I  desire  this  morning  to  bring 
under  your  examination.  Only  to  discover  who 
this  bride  is,  and  help  you  to  see  how  fine  are  her 
adornments — this  is  my  present  purpose. 

Of  course  our  earliest  inquiry  must  be  concern- 
ing her  identity.  Who  is  this  amiable  paragon 
of  feminine  perfection,  introduced  by  the  psalmist 
to  his  readers  here  as  a  King's  Daughter,  come  to 
be  a  King's  Bride  ?  Is  he  talking  of  a  real  maiden, 
whose  name  can  be  mentioned,  and  is  it  possible 
for  us  to  know  in  what  monarch's  palace  she  was 
born  and  reared  ? 

There  are  some  expositors  who  say  this  psalm 
was  a  mere  epithalamium,  or  marriage  ode,  writ- 
ten on  the  occasion  of  Solomon's  wedding,  or 
Ahab's,  or  perhaps  that  of  one  of  the  later  Jewish 
or  Persian  sovereigns.  But  the  prophetic  charac- 
ter, which  we  have  already  seen  that  it  bears, 
necessitates  a  far  higher  reference.  And  if  we 
admit  that  the  Messiah  is  its  subject,  we  are  re- 
minded at  once  of  the  more  extended  allegory 
which  lies  before  us  in  the  Canticles.  There,  as 
we  remember,  Jesus  Christ  is  represented  as  a 
regal  Husband,  while  the  Church  is  personified  as 
his  Bride.  We  recall  also,  now  we  set  ourselves 
about  it,  that  on  one  occasion  in  that  Song  of 
Songs  she  is  addressed  as  a  "  Prince's  Daughter," 
as  well  as  a  "  King's  Wife."  This  offers  us  an 
interesting  parallel  passage  for  the  explication  of 
our  present  text,  for  it  familiarizes  our  minds  with 
the  thought. 


12  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

In  the  prophecies.  In  the  Apocalypse. 

Such  a  figure,  moreover,  is  found  frequently  in 
the  ancient  prophecies  applied  to  the  collective 
body  of  believers  as  it  existed  under  the  former 
dispensation.  For,  so  says  the  pleading-  Jeremiah, 
as  if  uttering  a  voice  from  heaven  to  earth, 
"  Turn,  O  backsliding  children,  saith  the  Lord  ; 
for  I  am  married  unto  you."  And  even  this  is 
hurried  over  into  New  Testament  times.  The 
Almighty  complains  that  his  people  had  broken 
their  covenant  sinfully,  "  although,"  says  he,  "  I 
was  a  husband  unto  them," 

You  will  recollect,  hkewise,  that  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse John  the  apostle  was  bidden  to  come  and  see 
"  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife."  Carried  away  in 
the  Spirit  to  an  elevated  mountain,  what  he  did 
see  was  a  "great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem,  de- 
scending out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband."  And  yet  we  immedi- 
ately gather  from  the  voices  he  was  made  to  hear 
that  it  could  not  have  been  a  mere  town-— some 
sort  of  municipal  organization —which  was  here 
intended  ;  God's  Son  was  never  betrothed  to  a 
metropolis.  Relerence  must  have  been  meant  to 
the  living  element  in  the  conception  of  a  popu- 
lated place  ;  the  inhabitants  are  somehow  included 
in  the  suggestion  made.  The  explanation,  which 
fixes  the  intelligible  reach  of  the  thought,  is  dis- 
covered in  the  language  of  the  more  literal  Paul. 
This  apostle,  after  a  long  disquisition  about  the  re- 
lations and  duties  of  husbands  and  wives,  closes  a 
counsel  swiftly  with  the  significant  declaration  : 


THE   KINGS   DAUGHTER.  13 

The  Church  invisible.  The  body  of  believers. 

"  This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak  concern- 
ing Christ  and  the  Church."  Thus  we  learn,  in 
the  end  of  our  search,  that  this  is  the  King's 
Daughter — the  Church — who  is  one  day  to  become 
the  Prince's  Wife,  and  share  with  him  the  glory 
and  grace  of  his  millennial  kingdom. 

Such  an  explanation  we  are  all  ready  to  accept. 
The  entire  body  of  true  believers  is  here  indicated, 
the  Church  invisible.  Those  are  meant  who,  in 
all  ages,  clothed  in  robes  of  righteousness  which 
is  by  faith,  and  adorned  with  the  graces  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  adhere  to  the  one  Saviour  in  single- 
ness of  heart  as  well  as  in  fidelity  of  life,  and  who, 
on  this  account,  are  admitted  into  the  most 
endearing  union  and  communion  with  the  Chief 
among  ten  thousand  and  the  One  altogether 
lovely.  So  we  are  told  plainly  that  Christ  loved 
the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  the  Church, 
which  is  his  body,  "  the  fulness  of  him  who  fiUeth 
all  in  all." 

Now,  Avhat  makes  this  title  of  such  interest  to  us 
here  to-day  is  the  fact  that  the  Church  is  always 
as  its  members.  Indeed,  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
a  Church  distinct  from  its  members.  The  aggre- 
gate is  typed  in  the  individual.  All  that  belongs 
to  the  Church,  as  such,  fully  belongs  to  him  who 
is  spirituall}^  in  the  Church.  Is  the  Church  the 
Lamb's  wife?  Then  is  each  soul  a  bride  by 
experimental  espousal.  Is  the  Church  all  glo- 
rious within  ?  Then  it  is  because  every  soul  in 
the  invisible  body  of  believers  is  glorious  within 


14  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  royal  family.  New  rank  at  death. 


also.  Hence,  the  relationship  of  every  regener- 
ated Christian  is  royal  in  rank  and  affectionate  in 
feeling.  Each  believer  is  one  of  the  King's 
household.  "Ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is 
God's." 

There  must  be  something  in  this  worth  our 
consideration.  Whenever  we  approach  a  son  of 
poverty  and  honest  toil,  or  come  into  association 
with  a  daughter  of  much  weariness  and  many 
cares,  and  recognize  the  Saviour's  likeness  repro- 
duced, we  are  bound  in  some  measure  to  disre- 
gard the  earthl}-  estimate,  and  remember  the 
divine.  Mephibosheth  is  to  be  reckoned,  not  by 
his  deformity,  but  by  the  seat  he  has  at  David's 
table.  A  Christian  man  is  a  prince  ;  a  Christian 
woman  is  a  queen.  For  a  heraldry,  higher  than 
any  which  ever  ruled  a  human  court,  overrides  all 
the  grades  of  distinction  we  accept,  and  stamps 
each  decent  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  a  child  of 
God.  We  are  of  God,  and  all  the  world  lieth  in 
wickedness.  Esther  never  touched  a  sceptre 
more  princely  than  that  which  a  sinner  touches  in 
the  supreme  moment  when  his  sins  are  forgiven. 
Pharaoh's  daughter  could  not  take  the  outcast 
slave-infant  Moses  to  a  palace  half  so  royal  as 
that  into  which  Simon  Peter  took  his  brother  An- 
drew when  he  just  led  him  to  Jesus.  One  of  the 
devout  noblemen  of  Britain,  at  the  point  of  death, 
said  to  his  heir  standing  by — the  relative  who  was 
to  receive  his  estate  and  his  title  the  instant  he 
breathed    his   last — "  Brother,    in  an   hour   more 


THE   king's   daughter.  1 5 

Just  any  believing  soul.  "  All  glorious  within." 

you  are  to  become  a  duke  ;  but  I  shall  become  a 
king-  !" 

Be  very  solicitous  not  to  lose  this  thought  in 
the  vague  notion  of  the  Church  as  a  society  of 
believers,  bearing  a  banner  and  meeting  in  an  edi- 
fice on  the  Sabbath.  The  characteristics  which 
our  Lord  admires  are  those  of  a  spirit,  a  person,  a 
soul,  and  not  at  all  those  of  a  mere  corporation. 
Keep  asking  yourself  whether  you  are  wearing 
the  Lord's  jewels.  For  other  grooms  love  their 
brides  for  the  beauty  they  discover,  and  admire 
them  most  for  the  sake  of  the  attractions  they 
find  ;  but  the  Lamb  of  God  loves  this  foreign 
King's  Daughter  for  the  adornments  he  gives  her, 
and  admires  her  most  for  the  radiancy  of  the 
charms  which  his  own  hand  has  bestowed. 

Really,  therefore,  in  answer  to  the  question  we 
have  raised  as  to  the  person  here  designed,  I 
think  we  might  safely  say  this  King's  Daughter  is 
any  true,  pure,  believing  soul. 

But  we  must  not  pause  just  there  ;  we  must 
pass  on  to  study  the  character  which  is  sketched 
as  belonging  to  this  princess.  For  that  must  be 
what  is  meant  by  the  King's  Daughter  being,  as 
the  text  says,  "  all  glorious  within." 

Some  expositors  have  seemed  to  find  trouble  in 
their  interpretation  of  the  verse.  It  has  been  said 
that  this  word  "  within"  means  within  her  abode 
in  the  father's  house  she  came  from.  The  allu- 
sion is  claimed  as  local  ;  it  is  insisted  that  it  should 
be  applied  to  the  maiden's  surroundings  at  her 


l6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  queen  on  a  tower.  The  New  Revision. 

home.  So  some  construct  the  imaginative  picture 
of  an  enamored  lover  nearing  the  castle  in  which 
his  queen  of  beauty  resides.  She  has  come  forth 
upon  the  battlements  of  the  ancestral  building, 
wearing  her  attire  of  radiant  robes.  And  the  in- 
stant his  eyes  catch  a  glimpse  of  those  towers — 
the  instant  he  sees  the  form  of  her  whom  he  ad- 
mires outlined  against  the  serene  sky— he  breaks 
forth  in  tones  of  rapture  and  exultation  :  "  The 
King's  Daughter  is  all  glorious  within" — that  is, 
within  the  palace  walls. 

But  this  seems  very  tame,  no  matter  how  much 
one  tries  to  work  it  up  into  poetic  feeling  and 
fact.  Nor  is  it  any  better  to  say,  as  some  do,  that 
the  clause  ought  to  be  rendered  :  "  All-glorious 
in  her  intimacy" — that  is,  intimacy  with  her  mon- 
arch-husband, the  Church  companionable  with  her 
spouse,  Christ.  Others  have  supposed  that  the 
expression  refers  to  the  interior  apartments  re- 
served in  Eastern  houses  for  the  females,  and  they 
think  that  it  here  suggests  the  gorgeous  furniture 
of  the  chambers  which  the  queen  was  occupying, 
with  perhaps  an  allusion  to  her  own  sumptuous 
apparel.  This  appears  to  have  been  accepted  by 
those  who  have  issued  the  late  revision  of  the  Old 
Testament,  for  the  verse  reads  thus:  "The 
king's  daughter  within  the  palace  is  all  glorious  ; 
her  clothing  is  inwrought  with  gold."  But  here 
there  was  evidently  found  the  need  of  an  addi- 
tional explanation  ;  for  a  side-note  is  given,  stat- 
ing that  the  clause  means  "  in  the  inner  part  of  the 


THE   king's   daughter.  1/ 

The  Bride's  character.  Fidelity  first. 

palace."  This  is  a  sort  of  modification  of  an  in- 
terpretation older  still — namely,  that  the  descrip- 
tion must  be  confined  to  the  raiment  of  the  maiden 
so  gloriously  attired  for  her  wedding-day,  but 
kept  out  of  sight  for  a  season  in  her  customary  re- 
tirement, as  it  were,  within  veils  and  costly  tunics, 
her  beauty  concealed  under  golden-textured  rai- 
ment, and  to  be  seen  only  by  the  eyes  of  her  Lord. 

For  one,  I  cannot  say  I  like  any  of  these  ;  I 
accept,  as  on  the  whole  the  best,  the  old  and 
familiar  exposition  which  applies  the  language  to 
the  royal  damsel  herself,  and  makes  it  indicate  her 
internal  qualities  rather  than  her  external  adv^an- 
tages.  I  take  the  text  as  seeking  to  show  that  the 
Lamb  desires  in  his  wife  just  that  which,  under 
inspiration,  we  have  learned  divine  wisdom  coun- 
sels the  wives  of  others  to  seek  :  "  Whose  adorn- 
ing let  it  not  be  that  outward  adorning  of  plaiting 
the  hair,  and  of  wearing  of  gold,  or  of  putting  on 
of  apparel  ;  but  let  it  be  the  hidden  man  of  the 
heart,  in  that  which  is  not  corruptible,  even  the 
ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which  is  in 
the  sight  of  God  of  great  price." 

So  we  move  on  directly  to  inquire  what  these 
elements  of  character  are  which  the  maiden's  Lord 
admires.  A  few  of  them  are  within  our  reach, 
for  the  Scriptures  have  detailed  them. 

Fidelity,  of  course,  comes  earliest.  The  Lamb's 
bride  is  absolutely  stainless  in  her  purity  of  heart 
and  demeanor.  Even  among  the  shadows  of 
earthly  envy  and  detraction  no  suspicion  must  be 


l8  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Simplicity  in  Christ.  Affection  a  second  element. 

permitted  to  hiss  at  her.  The  force  of  the  apos- 
tle's figure,  in  his  warning  to  the  Corinthians, 
cannot  be  overstated.  A  false  wife  can  no  longer 
be  an  honest  woman.  She  is  just  a  lost  creature  : 
"  For  I  am  jealous  over  3^ou  with  godly  jealousy  : 
for  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband,  that  I 
may  present  you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ. 
But  I  fear,  lest  by  any  means,  as  the  serpent  be- 
guiled Eve  through  his  subtilty,  so  your  minds 
should  be  corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in 
Christ."  That  word  "simplicity"  means,  not  art- 
lessness,  nor  insipidity,  least  of  all,  but  singlefold- 
ness.  What  has  any  redeemed  believer's  soul,  ever 
after  his  first  espousals,  to  do  with  another  lord  ? 
Affection  is  a  second  element  in  the  glory  of 
this  King's  Daughter.  No  doubt,  in  the  hus- 
band's estimation,  it  is  the  chief  one.  No  beauty, 
no  dowr}^  no  station,  can  for  a  moment  compare, 
in  its  welcome,  with  that  which  he  gives  to  the 
wealth  of  her  heart  when  she  bestov/s  it  wholly 
upon  him.  And  I  may  just  as  well  say  now  that 
it  would  be  likely  that  the  Saviour  should  en- 
deavor to  increase  this  love  for  himself  by  render- 
ing every  possible  rival,  in  showiness  of  attrac- 
tion, around  his  bride  insipid  and  tasteless  to  her. 
The  slenderest  of  all  philosophy  will  tell  us  we 
love  that  the  more  which  costs  our  hearts  some 
little  labor  of  endurance  or  suffering.  And  God's 
providence  often  smites  away  that  which  would 
tempt  us  on  to  ruin  ;  this  is  in  order  to  shut  us  up 
to  him.     So  the  old   Puritan  had  it  rieht  when  he 


THE   KING  S   DAUGHTER.  I9 

Shutting  us  up  to  Himself.  Martin  Luther's  Amen. 

exclaimed  :  "  The  scourging  which  frets  others 
makes  God's  children  only  shine  the  brighter  ; 
that  weight  which  crushes  others  makes  them — 
like  the  palm — grow  higher  ;  and  that  hammer 
which  knocks  others  all  in  pieces  shall  but  beat 
them  nearer  to  Christ,  the  corner-stone." 

In  the  third  place,  we  must  reckon  patience  as 
among  these  superior  wifely  virtues  in  the  King's 
Daughter.  For  it  is  evident  she  will  always  have 
much  to  put  up  with  till  her  husband  comes  to 
take  her  home.  She  must  quietly  narrow  down 
her  circumstances  for  a  brief  while,  because  her 
happiness  is  out  at  interest  gathering  the  aggre- 
gate of  her  heavenly  income.  Martin  Luther 
seems  to  have  understood  this  very  well,  for  he 
once  wrote  in  his  journal  this  prayer  :  "  Strike, 
Lord,  strike  and  do  not  spare  ;  for  1  lie  down  in 
thy  will  ;  I  have  learned  to  say  Amen  to  thy 
Amen  ;  thou  hast  an  abiding  interest  in  me  greater 
than  I  have  in  myself ;  and  willingly,  therefore, 
am  I  at  thy  disposal." 

And  then,  beyond  this,  there  is  humility  as  an 
element  in  the  character  of  this  King's  Daughter. 
Evidently  she  has  been  lifted  in  rank,  as  well  as 
honored  in  adornment.  She  comes  up  from  the 
wilderness  leaning  upon  her  Beloved.  No  matter 
what  her  lineage,  she  is  exhorted  to  forget  her 
father's  house,  and  cut  herself  loose  from  her  own 
people.  She  owes  everything  to  free  favor.  Her 
husband  is  her  benefactor  as  well  as  her  Lord.  In 
this  is  the  most  perfect  parallel  for  each  one  of  us. 


20  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Quaint  John  Berridge.  Joseph's  central  sheaf. 

We  look  back  and  look  down  to  our  origin.  We 
were  born  in  sin  and  reared  in  shame.  We  were 
hewn  from  a  rock,  we  were  digged  from  a  pit. 
God's  dealings  with  us  are  very  kind,  but  they 
are  all  designed  to  keep  under  that  disposition 
which  is  in  us  most  repulsive  to  him — our  pride. 
He  rarely  sends  any  great  honor  without  some 
balancing  trial,  just  to  force  us  to  hold  steady, 
and  not  become  puffed  up.  Quaintly  enough,  but 
with  much  sense,  did  old  John  Berridge  write  to 
the  excellent  Lady  Huntingdon  :  "  The  Master 
will  alwavs  shave  your  crown  before  he  puts  a 
fresh  coronet  upon  your  head.  I  expect  to  hear 
of  a  six-months'  illness  whenever  I  learn  of  your 
building  a  new  chapel." 

It  is  necessary  that  we  arrest  the  study  of  this 
psalm  at  this  point,  leaving  much  unsaid  and  un- 
learned. A  single  thought  will  give  a  closing 
reflection.  Even  a  King's  Daughter  yields  her 
glory  to  that  of  her  King.  Let  each  soul  among 
us  see  to  it  that  every  sheaf  it  is  permitted  to 
garner  is  placed  where  it  can  best  and  most  grace- 
fully make  obeisance  to  Joseph's  ;  for  even  if  he 
be  our  brother  he  is,  after  all,  the  Prince  in  the 
household.  Other  kings  seek  alliance  with  royal 
families,  and  lead  to  their  palaces  the  daughters 
of  monarchs  ;  but  this  Prince  of  all  the  kings  of 
the  earth  makes  his  choice  among  plebeians,  mar- 
ries one  whom  he  has  to  exalt  to  make  his  equal, 
and  calls  to  his  throne-room  a  queen  whom  he 
lirst  crowns. 


II. 

THE   PRINCE'S   BRIDE. 

"  She  shall  ee  brought  unto  the  King  in  raiment  of 
needlework  ;  the  virgins  her  companions  that  follow  her 

SHALL    BE    BROUGHT    UNTO    THEE." — Psalm  45  :  I4. 

Last  week  we  began,  and  were  not  able  to 
finish,  the  study  of  this  psahn.  But  with  some 
painstaking-  we  were  successful  in  reaching  the 
conclusion  that  the  royal  maiden  here  introduced 
to  our  notice  was  intended  to  be  a  figure  of  the 
Church  just  on  the  eve  of  her  ultimate  espousal 
to  her  divine  Lord. 

Her  royalty  was  threefold,  and  that  of  itself  is 
worth  a  moment's  comment.  History  relates  that 
the  Empress  Matilda  was  the  daughter  of  a  king, 
then  the  wife  of  a  king,  and  at  last  the  mother  of 
a  king.  So  with  equal  admiration  here  we  may 
remark  that  in  one  place  the  Church  is  apparently 
called  a  King's  Daughter,  in  another  is  reckoned 
as  a  Monarch's  Mother,  and  in  our  text  is  shown 
to  have  been  a  Prince's  Bride. 

Still  one  more  thought  needs  to  be  repeated  in 
commencing  our  study  again — namely,  that  this 
whole  figure  is  true  of  each  soul  that  is  in  the 
Church  invisible,  just  the  same  as  it  is  of  the 
Church  as  a  body.     And  now  we  are  ready  to  go 


22  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  Bride's  raiment.  "  Wrought  gold." 

on  a  little  further  in  the  exposition.  We  are  in- 
vited to  a  wedding,  and  we  find  a  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  bride's  raiment,  the  bride's  maids,  and 
the  bride's  new  home.  We  can  take  these  up  in 
turn. 

I.  Let  us  begin  with  the  raiment  :  "She  shall 
be  brought  unto  the  King  in  raiment  of  needle- 
work :  her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold."  This  is 
very  much  what  had  been  intimated  before  in  the 
ninth  verse,  when  the  poet  was  singing  of  the 
king  :  "  Kings'  daughters  were  among  thy  honor- 
able women  :  upon  thy  right  hand  did  stand  the 
queen  in  gold  of  Ophir. " 

The  richest  of  all  the  metals  is  gold  ;  this  has 
been  true,  for  all  we  know,  since  the  world  was 
made.  And  of  all  gold,  that  gold  from  Ophir  was 
the  purest  gold.  Christ  suffers  nothing  cheap  or 
common  to  be  placed  upon  the  person  of  his  Bride 
the  day  when  she  is  to  be  married.  But  let  us 
observe  carefully  the  adroit  grace  of  language 
with  which  these  descriptions  are  lodged  in  our 
imaginations.  A  garment  of  metal  strikes  us  as 
very  stiff,  very  awkward  and  ungainl}^  for  a 
bride's  dress  ;  and  gold  is  certainly  one  of  the 
weightiest  of  metals,  almost  as  unwieldy  and  bur- 
densome as  lead.  The  inspired  poet  lifts  his 
image,  therefore,  with  exquisite  delicacy  ;  he  says 
"wrought  gold."  In  the  text  he  enlivens  the 
picture  still  more  ;  he  says  the  queen  shall  be 
brought  to  the  king  "  in  raiment  of  needlework." 
Such  curious  helpfulness  of  terms  in  the  speech 


THE   prince's   bride.  23 

Aaron's  robes.  Christ's  righteousness. 

makes  us  think  of  those  ancient  times  in  which  the 
skill  of  metal-artisans  fashioned  garments  of  intri- 
cate chains  and  links,  woven  of  so  light  a  texture 
that  the  filaments  seemed  of  silk  rather  than  of 
silver  or  steel  or  gold — gossamer  threads  of  spun 
metal,  which  are  said  to  have  floated  in  the  air. 
Something  like  this  was  certainly  done  when  the 
"  holy  garments  for  Aaron"  were  made  ;  for  the 
record  says  :  "And  they  did  beat  the  gold  into 
thin  plates,  and  cut  it  into  wires,  to  work  it  in  the 
blue,  and  in  the  purple,  and  in  the  scarlet,  and  in 
the  fine  linen,  with  cunnmg  work."  Our  New 
Revision  renders  the  text  thus  :  "  She  shall  be 
brought  unto  the  King  in  broidered  work  ;  her 
clothing  is  inwrought  with  gold. ' ' 

But  now  the  chief  thing  for  us  is  concerning 
the  significance  of  this  wonderful  dress  :  what 
does  the  picture  mean  ?  In  other  words,  what  are 
the  new  garments  which  the  soul  that  is  espoused 
to  Christ  the  Saviour  is  going  to  put  on  at  the 
bridal  ?  To  gain  an  easy  answer  to  such  a  ques- 
tion, we  must  lay  the  imagery  of  the  Apocalypse 
alongside  of  the  prophecy  and  the  psalm.  Finer 
vision  no  human  eye  ever  saw  than  that  which 
passed  before  the  Apostle  John  in  the  lonely  island 
of  Patmos  :  "  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of 
a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters, 
and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying, 
Alleluia  :  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth. 
Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honor  to  him  : 
for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his 


24  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Fine  linen.  "  A  fair  mitre." 

wife  hath  made  herself  read3^  And  to  her  was 
granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen, 
clean  and  white  :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous- 
ness of  saints."  The  garments  of  the  Lamb's 
Bride,  then,  are  significant  of  her  character.  It  is 
the  righteousness  of  the  saints  with  which  they  are 
clothed.  This  language  turns  us  back  at  once  to 
the  enthusiastic  song  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  :  "  I 
will  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  my  soul  shall  be 
joyful  in  my  God  ;  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with 
garments  of  salvation,  he  hath  covered  me  with 
the  robe  of  righteousness,  as  a  bridegroom  deck- 
eth  himself  with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adorn- 
eth  herself  with  her  jewels." 

With  this  we  also  recall  the  vision  of  Zechariah, 
that  in  which  he  saw  Joshua  the  high-priest  com- 
ing up  at  first  before  the  angel  of  the  Lord  with 
filthy  garments  upon  his  person  ;  the  explanation 
of  this  has  always  been  clear  as  a  picture  of  human 
need  under  the  defilement  of  sin.  But  suddenly, 
while  the  prophet  was  looking  at  the  scene,  the 
angel  gave  command  that  this  raiment  should  be 
all  stripped  away  from  him  ;  he  also  said,  "  Be- 
hold, I  have  caused  thine  iniquity  to  pass  from 
thee,  and  I  will  clothe  thee  with  changfe  of  rai- 
ment  ;  let  them  set  a  fair  mitre  upon  his  head." 
This  means  the  bestowal  of  Christ's  righteousness 
in  the  place  of  man's  pollution.  The  "  fair  mitre" 
is  rendered  in  the  margin  of  the  New  Revision  as 
a  "clean  turban."  A  swift  change  of  outward 
appearance,  from  filth  to  cleanliness,  is  the  sign  of 


THE   PRINCE  S   BRIDE.  25 

Inward  cleansing.  .  The  Bride's  maids. 

inward  washing  from  all  defilement  of  sin.  Such 
a  passage  is  the  more  remarkable  because  it  is 
found  in  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
not  among  the  clearer  fulfilments  of  the  New. 
* '  Our  righteousnesses  are  as  filihy  rags. ' '  Joshua 
is  here  put  as  the  type  man  of  the  race.  The  angel 
of  the  Lord  is  Jesus  Christ ;  he  gives  his  own  robe 
for  man  ;  that  represents  his  mighty  and  inex- 
haustible merit  before  the  law  of  our  Maker.  No 
soul  of  earthly  defilement  can  ever  enter  the  pres- 
ence-chamber of  the  Lamb  of  God  on  that  day  of 
days  when  he  takes  his  Bride  home,  unless  he 
has  on  him  a  recognized  wedding-garment  of  the 
imputed  righteousness  of  the  Redeemer.  God 
"  hath  made  him,  who  knew  no  sin,  to  be  sin  for 
us,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him."  All  this  picturesque  presentation 
of  the  gospel  plan  was  put  on  the  inspired  record 
full  five  hundred  years  before  the  shepherds  heard 
the  choirs  singing  out  in  the  air  over  the  Bethle- 
hem hills. 

2.  Thus,  now  that  we  know  what  the  Bride's 
raiment  signifies,  we  are  ready,  in  the  second  place, 
to  inquire  about  the  Bride's  maids,  attendant  upon 
her  at  this  wedding  :  "  She  shall  be  brought  unto 
the  King  in  raiment  of  needlework  :  the  virgins  her 
companions  that  follow  her  shall  be  brought  unto 
thee.  With  gladness  and  rejoicing  shall  they  be 
brought  :  they  shall  enter  into  the  King's  palace." 

We  shall  not  catch  the  full  power  of  this  simil- 
itude unless  our  imagination  lends  itself  willingly 


26  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Oriental  weddings.  The  Bride  is  the  Church. 

to  the  gorgeous  fancy  in  the  scene.  It  is  an 
oriental  marriage  festival  which  is  pictured  ;  but 
a  group  of  choice  epithets  is  suddenly  aggregated 
in  the  description.  The  maiden's  train  of  com.- 
panions  is  made  up  of  honorable  women  ;  prin- 
cesses advance  to  give  her  a  welcome  as  she 
passes.  There  is  in  all  this  the  showy  pageantry 
of  a  wedding,  with  something  of  its  bewildering 
confusion  of  display  as  well  as  of  its  splendor, 
wherein  nobles  vie  with  each  other  in  lavish  ex- 
penditure. For  it  is  a  King's  Daughter  who  is 
the  betrothed  maiden  ;  it  is  a  Monarch's  Son 
who  is  the  groom  leading  home  his  Bride.  He 
has  wooed  her  royally  ;  he  will  crown  her  at  the 
instant  of  espousals  ;  then  he  will  provide  her  a 
palace  for  her  abode.  But  how  much  of  all  this 
is  literal  in  the  turn  of  the  simihtude,  it  is  not 
easy  to  say.  We  have  reached  the  satisfactory 
conclusion  that  the  Bride  is  the  Church  ;  there 
is  no  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  psalm  so 
far:  "Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  him- 
self for  the  Church,  that  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word, 
that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
thing  ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish." 

But  now  we  are  not  sure  that  we  can  fix  the 
meaning  of  each  particular  in  the  pageant.  When 
we  read  that  these  virgins  who  accompany  the 
Bride  as  her  maids  shall  likewise  be  conducted  to 


THE   PRINCE  S   BRIDE.  2/ 

Who  are  the  maids  ?  Shoshannirn  means  lilies. 

the  King,  being  brought  to  him  precisely  as  lier- 
self,  it  perplexes  us  to  decide  who  they  are. 
They  are  not  her  waiting  servants  or  attendants 
merely,  to  be  disposed  of  at  her  serene  pleas- 
ure ;  they  are  her  equals,  her  companions.  If 
there  be  any  religious  instruction  in  this  part 
of  the  picture,  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  suggestion 
that  the  Jewish  privileges  under  the  former  dis- 
pensation were  to  be  shared,  as  they  certainly 
were,  under  the  later  dispensation,  with  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Still,  I  cannot  believe  that  much  good  will 
come  from  any  close  analysis  of  the  poetic  descrip- 
tion ;  for  I  do  not  think  a  writer  so. excited  would 
pause  to  fix  his  references  so  definitely.  Most  of 
us  would  prefer  to  look  up  and  see  this  grand 
procession  moving  on,  without  inquiring  who  the 
maids  were,  or  who  the  singers  were  that  chanted 
the  songs.  Indeed,  the  psalm  has  a  very  unusual 
form  of  dedication  ;  it  is  entitled  :  "  To  the  chief 
musician  upon  Shoshannim  ;"  and  the  word  sJio- 
shannim  means  lilies ;  hence  some  of  the  soberest 
commentators  suppose  that  reference  is  intended 
here  to  the  maidens  whose  purity  and  beauty  shine 
like  lilies  in  the  marriage  train.  Only  one  thing  is 
clear  to  us  as  we  read  along  through  the  song  ; 
every  device  of  rhetoric  is  put  into  employ  in 
order  to  fill  our  imaginations  with  a  sense  of  the 
splendor  of  that  train  on  the  way  toward  the 
King's  dwelling,  where  the  feast  is  to  be  spread, 
and  the  guests  entertained. 


28  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  grand  procession.  The  Bride's  home. 

3.  Now,  in  the  third  place,  it  is  left  for  us  to 
consider  the  Bride's  new  home  :  "  They  shall 
enter  into  the  King's  palace  with  gladness  and  re- 
joicing." 

Of  course  it  is  a  royal  abode  which  is  to 
be  this  maiden's  future  residence  ;  for  it  is  the 
mansion  of  her  lord  into  which  she  goes.  This 
psalm  does  not  take  up  the  task  of  singing  its 
praises  ;  it  is  occupied  with  hymning  the  beauties 
and  the  honors,  the  graces  and  the  glories,  of  the 
Prince  and  of  his  Bride.  The  new  wife  will  then 
be  a  queen  ;  she  will  be  regnant  as  well  as  regal. 
Christ  promises  all  that  now  ;  and  as  we  begin  to 
think  how  much  of  comfort  and  help  there  is  in  the 
spiritual  application  of  the  inspired  poem,  it  will 
be  well  for  us  to  dwell  for  a  few  moments  upon  at 
least  two  admonitions. 

The  one  of  these  has  reference  to  our  patience 
in  waiting  for  our  Lord's  coming.  He  observes 
the  steady  hopefulness  and  endurance  of  all  his 
followers,  while  as  yet  he  does  not  establish  his 
whole  rights  here  on  the  earth.  Historians  always 
remark  concerning  the  pathos  of  the  moment  when 
an  exiled  monarch,  restored  at  last,  bestows  royal 
favors  upon  the  faithful  adherents  who  shared  his 
fortunes  while  he  was  contending  for  his  crown. 
King  Jesus  does  not  seem  to  have  much  to  give 
his  followers  now.  But  a  better  season  is  sure  to 
arrive.  I  remember  that  in  Roman  annals  it  is 
recorded  concerning  one  poor  citizen  named 
Agrippa,  really    poverty-stricken    and    worried, 


THE   prince's   bride.  29 


Agrippa's  new  chain.  The  long  run. 

that  he  uttered  the  wish  aloud  that  Caius  were  the 
emperor.  The  reigning  t^yrant  on  the  imperial 
throne  was  offended,  and  so  threw  the  man  into 
prison.  Slow  years  passed  on,  and  by  and  by 
Caius  did  indeed  come  to  the  throne.  And  then 
he  gave  a  province  to  the  freed  Agrippa  ;  and  he 
cast  a  chain  around  his  neck,  ringing  as  it  shook 
its  links  of  beautiful  gold — a  chain  measured  so  as 
to  be  of  the  exact  weight  of  the  fetters  he  had 
Avorn  while  in  jail  for  the  honor  of  his  master. 
Such  a  thought  fills  us  with  hope  when  we  suffer 
and  toil  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  the  little  story 
recalls  the  glowing  words  of  the  prophet  who 
sung  them  nearly  three  thousand  years  ago  :  ' '  For 
brass  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron  I  will  bring 
silver,  and  for  wood  brass,  and  for  stones  iron  :  I 
will  also  make  thy  officers  peace,  and  thine  extract- 
ors righteousness.  Violence  shall  no  more  be 
heard  in  thy  land,  wasting  nor  destruction  within 
thy  borders  :  but  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls  Salva- 
tion, and  thy  gates  Praise." 

It  becomes  really  wise  and  salutary,  therefore, 
for  any  Christian,  who  would  rightly  estimate  the 
worth  of  his  sonship  in  God,  to  learn  to  reckon 
what  in  our  familiar  language  men  are  wont  to 
call  "the  long  run,"  He  must  train  himself  to 
turn  away  from  the  tyranny  of  the  present,  and 
accept  the  eminence  of  the  future  instead.  He 
must  discipline  his  imagination  to  live  with  more 
extensive  sweeps  of  fancy  out  in  the  air  before  it. 
We  judge  poorly  of  what  we  think  is  for  human 


30  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  tyranny  of  the  present.  Forecast  the  future. 


advantage,  merely  because  we  attempt  to  estimate 
at  too  short  ranges  ;  thus  we  miss  all  true  per- 
spective ;  and  thus  we  become  entangled  with 
foolish  longings  and  more  foolish  conceits.  There 
are  times  in  which  God's  dear  children  would 
actually  sigh  for  some  onions  and  leeks,  such  as 
they  used  to  eat  in  Egypt,  and  be  willing  to  forget 
the  fair  and  happy  land  of  Canaan  lying  on  ahead. 

Out  in  space  are  stars  so  distant  that  we  cannot 
discern  any  parallax.  Yet  we  are  certain  they 
have  orbits  wide  beyond  any  possible  register  of 
human  measurement.  It  is  owing  to  the  simple 
fact  that  our  planet  is  nothing  but  a  point  in  the 
solar  system  that  we  cannot  see  beyond  the  sun 
itself.  And  still  we  trust  the  astronomers  who 
are  wiser  than  we  are  with  figures. 

Just  so  we  ought  to  take  on  faitli  the  statement 
that  our  immortal  souls  are  going  to  circle  in 
orbits  of  inconceivable  experience,  which  we  need 
not  expect  even  to  comprehend  at  this  poor  mo- 
ment of  our  earthly  history.  We  must  learn  to 
forecast  our  future  ;  for  our  glory  lies  in  the  life 
to  come,  and  not  in  this  :  "  For  I  reckon,  that  the 
sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to 
be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  re- 
vealed in  us.  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons 
of  God." 

Then  the  other  admonition  which  is  suggested 
here  claims  notice.  It  has  reference  to  the  ills  and 
inconveniences,  the  trials  and  pains,  of  this  present 


THE   PRINCES   BRIDE.  3 1 

Tediousness  of  dressing.  Princess  Elizabeth. 

state  of  our  existence.  It  is  wise  always  to  remem- 
ber that  our  Lord  is  making  every  one  whom  he 
loves  ready  and  meet  in  character  and  in  tastes 
for  the  true  life  that  is  on  before  them  all.  Disci- 
plines of  Christian  souls  are  but  the  small  annoy- 
ances of  an  attiring-room  to  the  King's  Daughter, 
going  forth  to  her  bridal  feast,  where  the  Beloved 
is  to  see  her  face  earliest.  She  ought  to  be  patient 
and  brave,  surely,  just  while  she  is  being  dressed 
for  the  occasion  and  made  meet  for  her  inherit- 
ance in  the  light.  It  is  related  in  history  that  on 
the  day  when  Mary  of  England  was  advanced  to 
the  throne,  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  her  sister, 
younger  by  many  years,  and  so  the  heiress  of  the 
honor  to  which  she  now  ministered,  was  deputed 
to  carry  the  new  queen's  crown  in  the  coronation 
procession  ;  she  turned  to  the  French  ambassa- 
dor pettishly,  and  complained  of  its  weight  in  her 
hands.  The  adroit  courtier  replied  significantly  : 
"  Be  patient  awhile  ;  it  will  seem  much  lighter 
when  it  shall  rest  on  your  head." 

What  we  endure  for  others,  what  we  have  to 
bear  for  ourselves,  should  be  looked  upon  in  the 
light  of  simple  present  inconvenience,  to  be  one 
time  forgotten  altogether  in  the  perfect  fruitions 
of  our  final  establishment  and  rest.  This  is  not  to 
be  achieved  by  just  an  impulse  of  self-revolution  ; 
it  comes  only  of  long  self-discipline.  We  must 
learn  to  look  up  and  off  and  far  on  ahead,  so  as  that 
we  really  live  in  another  world  than  this.  You  have 
seen  the  signs  on  a  guide-board  :  the  hand  painted 


32  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Index  fingers.  A  far-off  look. 


in  conspicuous  letters,  with  the  forefinger  extended 
to  point  the  path  or  show  the  way.  Suppose  a 
Christian  should  put  on  his  front  door,  on  his 
business  entrance,  on  his  counting-room  desk,  on 
his  iron  safe,  on  the  panels  of  his  carriage,  on  the 
furniture  of  his  table — indeed,  on  ever3^thing  which 
habitually  he  saw  or  touched — a  small  quiet  hand 
with  the  index  finger  pointing  upward  and  far 
away  ;  how  some  people  would  smile  at  him  !  It 
might  not  be  wise  ;  but  suppose  he  should  seem  to 
see  it,  think  he  saw  it,  wished  to  keep  seeing  it 
always  ;  then  he  would  sometimes  say  to  himself 
gently  and  joyously,  "  This  is  no  home,  nor  rest, 
nor  abiding-place  for  me  ;  I  belong  elsewhere  ; 
the  future  is  my  land,  my  country,  my  residence, 
my  hope  !"  Would  there  be  any  pressure  there- 
after of  daily  burdens  of  care?  "For  we  are 
saved  by  hope  :  but  hope  that  is  seen  is  not  hope  : 
for  what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  ? 
But  if  we  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we 
with  patience  wait  for  it." 

Each  suffering,  which  begins  at  all  or  ends  at 
all,  bears  no  perceptible  or  measurable  relations 
to  eternity,  which  is  without  beginning  and  with- 
out end.  It  might  be  reproduced  over  and  over 
again,  and  then  die  out  and  be  utterly  forgotten. 
Let  the  Bride  keep  thinking  of  the  day  when  she 
shall  be  brought  unto  the  King's  palace,  and  shall 
enter  it  with  gladness  and  rejoicing.  We  must  set 
our  thoughts  upon  that  vast  hereafter  ;  and  then 
all  these  worries  and  disappointments,  these  cares 


THE   PRINCE  S   BRIDE.  33 

The  bride's  companions.  A  classic  story. 

and  weights  of  work,  will  sink  into  their  own 
proper  insignificance.  "  For  our  hght  affliction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  : 
while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen  :  for  the 
things  which  are  seen  are  temporal  ;  but  the  things 
which  are  not  seen  are  eternal." 

Meantime,  let  the  Bride's  companions  sing  as 
they  go.  We  may  find  all  the  sermons  we  need 
in  the  songs  that  we  sing.  "  We  are  on  our  way 
to  God."  In  the  old  classic  story  we  were  told 
that  ^gistheus  could  not  turn  Clytemnestra  away 
from  her  joyous  duty  till  he  had  murdered  the 
venerable  bard  whom  Agamemnon  had  left  behind 
to  sing  with  her.  The  procession  is  a  part  of  the 
wedding,  even  though  the  street  be  hot  and  the 
way  be  long.  And  the  home  stands  yonder  on 
the  hill  :  "  Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider, 
and  incline  thine  ear  ;  forget  also  thine  own 
people,  and  thy  father's  house  ;  so  shall  the  king 
greatly  desire  thy  beauty  :  for  he  is  thy  Lord  ; 
and  worship  thou  him." 


III. 

THE   BRIDE'S    PRESENTS. 

"And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  A 
GIFT." — Psalm  45  :  12. 

In  the  casino  of  the  Rospigliosi  Palace  at  Rome 
there  is  a  painting  upon  the  ceiling  which  has  long 
attracted  the  admiration  of  the  world.  It  repre- 
sents Aurora,  the  goddess  of  the  morning,  advanc- 
ing along  the  sky  to  bring  in  the  dawn.  The  car 
of  Phoebus  is  drawn  by  steeds  that  seem  almost 
alive  in  the  air.  There  are  groups  of  female 
attendants,  symbolizing  the  hours,  all  around  ; 
some  of  them  pale  and  gentle,  as  if  lit  only  by 
twilight  and  waiting  quietly  for  their  turn  to 
come  to  rule  the  declining  day  ;  some  eagerly 
alert  and  exultant,  as  they  rush  and  shine  in  the 
blaze  of  the  sunrise  it  is  their  office  to  welcome. 
Up  overhead  there  is  a  Morning  Star,  bearing  a 
torch  in  his  outstretched  hand,  the  flame  of  which 
is  blown  back  by  the  swiftness  of  his  speed  as  he 
hastens  on  to  kindle  the  lamps  ot  day. 

But  the  fairest  figure  of  all  is  that  of  Aurora 
herself.  It  does  not  seem  as  if  it  could  be  possi- 
ble for  human  pencil  to  put  into  lines  and  colors  a 
beautiful  woman  more  comely  or  more  attractive. 
She  walks  as  firmly  as  if  she  were  on  a  meadowed 


THE  bride's  presents.  35 

The  "  Aurora"  of  Guide.  A  pageant  in  a  poem. 

sward,  and  yet  so  light  is  her  elastic  step  that  she 
rests  easily  upon  the  atmosphere  she  treads. 

The  thought  which  always  impresses  one  at  first 
sight  of  this  marvelous  picture  of  Guido  is  that 
of  velocity  in  action,  a  certain  sort  of  vigorous 
healthiness  of  life  moving  on,  positively  indescrib- 
able in  mere  words.  The  horses  are  all  afire  in 
the  light  which  they  are  facing.  The  Hours  are 
gentle  and  soft  in  their  feminine  graces,  but  still 
display  a  matchless  force  in  their  unfatigued 
rapidity.  The  car  is  borne  forward  on  wheels 
that  are  indistinct  with  the  whirling.  Everything 
is  floating  and  moving  ahead,  and  the  sky  is  full 
of  life.  It  is  as  if  the  artist  had  caught  a  mere 
flash  of  the  grand  procession  of  the  dawn  in  the 
heavens,  and  had  fixed  it  there  on  the  roof  of  an 
earthly  palace  for  mortals  to  look  up  to. 

To  those  who  have  visited  the  Italian  city  and 
seen  this  masterpiece  of  art  there  will  be  needed 
no  explanation  of  the  present  allusion  to  it.  Any 
one  who  reads  this  forty-fifth  psalm  will  catch  the 
suggestion.  It  is  a  pageant  in  a  poem.  It  is  a 
pageant  of  marriage,  and  the  bride  is  a  king's 
daughter,  and  becomes  a  prince's  wife.  The 
psalm  moves  on  with  the  same  kind  of  living 
celerity  that  arrests  attention  in  the  famous  paint- 
ing. It  seems  as  if  we  could  almost  see  the  pro- 
cession on  the  way  to  the  bridegroom's  house. 
The  sacred  poem  celebrates  the  union  of  Christ 
with  his  Church,  and  so  it  swings  onward,  and 
sings  along  by  itself.     Our  eyes  are  kindled  as  we 


36  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  matchless  maiden.  The  New  Testament  church. 

behold  this  matchless  maiden,  who  is  the  centre  of 
the  scene — indeed,  until  the  bridegroom  shows 
himself,  the  fairest  of  all  the  company,  although 
she  has  kings'  daughters  for  her  honorable  women 
— this  queen  standing  there  in  gold  of  Ophir.  It 
is  with  a  reverent  sense  of  its  fitness  that  we  wait 
while  the  inspired  poet  makes  his  address  to  one 
so  worthy  of  his  praises  : 

"  Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  consider,  and  in- 
cline thine  ear  ;  forget  also  thine  own  people,  and 
thy  father's  house  :  so  shall  the  king  greatly  desire 
thy  beauty  :  for  he  is  thy  Lord  ;  and  worship  thou 
him.  And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there 
with  a  gift  ;  even  the  rich  among  the  people  shall 
entreat  thy  favor.  The  king's  daughter  is  all 
glorious  within  :  her  clothing  is  of  wrought  gold." 

It  relieves  this  psalm  of  all  minor  criticism  as 
being  too  florid  in  its  orientalism,  too  gorgeous  ni 
its  imagery,  to  consider  it,  as  it  undoubtedly  is 
meant  to  be,  prophetic  of  gospel  times,  and  sym- 
bolic of  the  New  Testament  church.  This  maiden 
is  the  Lamb's  wife,  and  she  is  on  the  way  to  her 
husband  ;  he  is  waiting  for  her  at  the  marriage 
feast  now.  It  is  with  this  interpretation  that  the 
poem  becomes  specific.  We  can  see  the  far  and 
beautiful  reach  of  many  of  the  otherwise  obscure 
references,  and  we  can  understand  many  of  the 
suggestive  expressions. 

When,  for  example,  we  read,  at  the  close,  that, 
"  instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children, 
whom  thou  mayest  make  princes  in  all  the  earth," 


THE   bride's   presents.  37 

The  rich  entreating  favor.  An  ancient  custom. 

we  may  learn  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  true 
king-maker  ;  God  will  raise  up  for  himself  a  spirit- 
ual seed  whose  line  shall  never  fail  so  as  to  become 
extinct  ;  though  veterans  depart  in  the  ranks  of 
the  spiritual  army,  volunteers  shall  arise  to  fill 
their  loyal  places  ;  and  when  Immanuel's  crown 
shall  rest  on  his  head,  he  will  reign  over  a  New 
Jerusalem  of  palaces  and  a  kingdom  of  kings. 
And  then  also,  when  we  read  that  "  even  the  rich 
among  the  people  shall  entreat  thy  favor,"  we 
may  congratulate  ourselves  that  all  the  vast  wealth 
of  the  world  shall  become  consecrate,  so  as  to  be 
laid  eventually  at  the  feet  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  that  for  Christ's  sake.  It  is  thus  that 
the  grand  promise  shall  be  fulfilled,  as  it  is  made 
here  in  the  psalm  ;  thus  it  is  that  the  Church's 
name  shall  be  remembered  in  all  generations,  and 
God  shall  be  praised  by  the  people  forever  and 
ever. 

In  this  way  we  come  to  perceive,  and  we  begin 
to  appreciate,  the  matchless  meaning  of  that  frag- 
ment of  a  verse  which  we  have,  more  or  less  by 
itself,  chosen  for  our  present  theme  of  comment  : 
"  And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  shall  be  there  with  a 
gift."  Here  is  allusion  to  the  presents  which  a 
beloved  bride  is  accustomed,  now  as  then,  to  re- 
ceive from  all  acquaintances.  A  custom  is  this  so 
ancient  that  no  man's  memory  can  tell  its  origin, 
that  of  bringing  for  the  new  wife's  acceptance 
articles  for  use  and  adornment  upon  the  day  of 
her  marriage.     All  the  world  over  this  is  one  of 


38  SERMONS  IN   SONGS. 

Oriental  processions.  Isaiah's  description. 

the  common  and  beautiful  ceremonies  of  the  wed- 
ding. We  have  seen  in  the  East  the  procession  of 
menials  and  servants  advancing  with  the  sound  of 
music  through  the  streets  of  the  city  at  mid-day. 
So  fine  and  so  showy  have  been  the  trains  that,  as 
strangers,  we  have  imagined  them  to  be  bridal 
displays  ;  but  indeed  they  were  only  the  files  of 
porters  carrying  home  the  costly  vessels,  and 
rings,  and  bracelets,  and  garlands,  and  wreaths, 
and  mirrors,  with  which  friends  were  going  to 
grace  the  occasion  when  a  maiden  should  become 
a  wife.  Huge  trays  of  burnished  silver  were 
borne  high  up  on  the  heads  of  stalwart  men,  and 
on  these  lay  jewels,  and  vases,  and  plumes,  and 
flowers.  And  all  this  was  because  it  was  the  day 
of  a  marriage  ;  the  groom  was  waiting  in  his  pal- 
ace, and  the  bride  had  made  herself  ready.  The 
daughters  of  wealth  were  coming  with  gifts. 

It  is  to  keep  up  the  poetic  style  that  for  Tyre  is 
put  in  peculiar  phrase,  "  the  daughter  of  Tyre," 
and  that  one  vast  and  opulent  city  is  put  for  the 
whole  outside  world.  History  tells  us  that,  in  the 
day  of  the  psalmist,  Tyre  was  probably  the  most 
wealthy  and  conspicuous  town  then  existing.  It 
is  referred  to  in  this  instance  as  representing  per- 
sons of  the  highest  rank,  as  well  as  countries  of 
the  most  exalted  position,  and  nations  of  the  lofti- 
est supremacy.  So  this  is  a  repetition  of  the 
thought  which  was  afterward  reannounced  with 
more  fulness  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  :  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God,  Behold,  I  will  lift  up  mine  hand  to 


THE  bride's   presents.  39 

Why  daughter  of  Tyre  ?  Put  for  us  Gentiles. 

the  Gentiles,  and  set  up  my  standard  to  the  peo- 
ple :  and  they  shall  bring  thy  sons  in  their  arms, 
and  thy  daughters  shall  be  carried  upon  their 
shoulders.  And  kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers, 
and  their  queens  thy  nursing  mothers  :  they  shall 
bow  down  to  thee  with  their  face  toward  the  earth, 
and  lick  up  the  dust  of  thy  feet  ;  and  thou  shaft 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  :  for  they  shall  not  be 
ashamed  that  wait  for  me." 

But  the  selection  of  such  a  town  signifies  more 
even  than  appears  on  the  surface,  for  Tyre  was  a 
heathen  city.  It  is  in  the  New  Testament  noted 
as  the  only  place  that  Jesus  Christ  ever  visited 
outside  of  Palestine.  He  went  once  over  across 
into  Phoenicia  and  came  to  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon.  It  never  reaches  our  minds  as  it  ought  ; 
but  the  fact  is,  we  are  not  Israelites,  and  the  cove- 
nants never  pertained  to  us  for  many  a  solemn 
century  in  the  Old  Testament  church.  We  are 
all  Gentiles  ;  and  only  because  the  middle  wall  of 
partition  has  been  broken  down  are  we  now  admit- 
ted to  equal  spiritual  privileges.  In  the  splendid 
pageant  of  this  maiden's  marriage.  Tyre  repre- 
sents us — ourselves — here.  Our  particular  office 
in  the  forty-fifth  psalm  seems  to  consist  in  bringing 
presents  to  the  bride.  The  plain,  practical  mean- 
ing of  the  verse,  therefore,  is  this  :  God  has  prom- 
ised the  Church  that  the  hisfhest  national  strength 
upon  the  earth  shall  become  tributary  to  the  com- 
ing kingdom  of  Jesus. 

And  further,  there  is  significance  in  the  abrupt 


40  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Superfluous  italics.  A  prosaic  conclusion. 

form  of  expression  employed  here.  Even  the 
New  Revision  is  constrained  to  continue  the  use 
of  the  itahcs  in  the  verse.  The  original  Hebrew 
does  not  say,  "  The  daughter  of  Tyre  sJiall  be 
there  /'  it  says  no  more  than  this  :  "  The  daughter 
of  Tyre — with  a  gift  !"  It  is  an  explosive  and 
picturesque  indication  of  one's  admiration  and 
delight,  as  if  a  bystander  were  viewing  a  proces- 
sion, and  should  suddenly  catch  sight  in  it  of  an 
important  and  unexpected  guest,  and  in  real  en- 
thusiasm should  exclaim,  "  Oh,  see  there  !  The 
daughter  of  Tyre  !  She  has  come  !  And  with  a 
gift  in  her  hand,  too  !  Why,  even  the  richest  and 
the  grandest  are  proud  to  join  the  train  of  our 
sweet  Bride  to-day  !"  It  is  in  this  instance  the 
gift  which  attracts  notice  ;  and  we,  who  are  typed 
in  that  Gentile  city  pouring  forth  its  treasures  at 
the  wedding  of  the  King's  Daughter,  must  see 
that  our  main  office  in  this  grand  pageant  of  the 
Church  going  home  to  Christ  in  the  celestial  pal- 
ace is  found  in  the  bringing  ot  our  wealth  in  gifts. 

It  must  be  mournfully  confessed  now  that  there 
is  danger  of  our  smothering  all  enthusiasm  over 
this  psalm  by  so  prosaic  a  conclusion.  Is  it  true, 
then,  that  this  exquisite  ode  has  no  higher  purpose 
in  Christian  instruction  than  to  stimulate  contribu- 
tions of  money  for  the  ordinary  religious  ends  ? 

No  ;  we  enter  instant  protest  against  such  cold 
construction.  Is  that  the  way  we  train  ourselves 
to  look  on  weddings  and  on  wedding-gifts  from 
the   bride's   friends  ?     Do    we    propose    to    drag 


THE  bride's  presents.  '41 

Is  this  sheer  commonplace  ?  We  are  at  a  wedding. 

everything  down  to  sheer  commonplace  because 
there  is  money  involved  in  the  custom  ?  Is  it  just 
a  weight  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  nickel,  and  gilt, 
with  a  measure  and  a  bundle  of  silk,  and  fur,  and 
linen,  which  hes  piled  up  in  the  chamber  where 
the  guests  go  to  look  at  the  presents  ?  Is  there 
no  romance,  is  it  to  be  understood  that  there  is 
no  affection,  no  sincerity,  no  faith,  no  memory,  in 
the  offering,  no  taste,  no  gracefulness  in  the  care 
of  selection,  no  joy  in  the  work,  no  kind  wishing, 
no  heartiness  in  the  hope  for  a  bright  future  ?  Do 
we  care  whether  the  bride  cares  for  what  we  have 
brought  her  ?  When  we  purchased,  or  fashioned, 
or  wrought  the  modest  donation  we  placed  there 
on  the  table,  was  there  no  gentle  thought  in  the 
choosing  of  it  for  her  because  we  loved  her  ? 
Had  we  no  imagination  in  our  own  minds  of  her 
pleasure  by  and  by,  when  she  should  have  leisure 
to  look  the  articles  over,  and  should  happen  to 
notice  that  which  we  gave  her,  modest  though  it 
might  be,  and  did  we  not  even  whisper  to  our- 
selves :  "  She  has  been  a  dear,  good  girl  ;  God 
bless  and  keep  her  in  all  the  fine,  fair  future  !" 
Was  it  all  dead,  heavy  business  throughout,  and 
did  we  look  upon  such  occasions  as  one  of  the  in- 
flictions of  society,  and  one  of  the  burdens  friends 
had  to  stand  under  because  they  were  so  weak  as 
to  have  friends  ? 

So  now,  my  Christian  hearers,  we  are  at  the 
wedding  to-day,  and  the  Lamb's  Bride  is  on  her 
way  to  her  husband.     Why  give  up  all  this  beau- 


42  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Enthusiasm  of  affection.  Heathen  liberality. 

tiful  romance  on  an  occasion  like  this  ?  What  is 
wanted  in  our  Christian  work  is  precisely  this 
enthusiasm  of  an  honest  affection.  It  is  among 
the  poorest  and  the  humblest  often  that  we  find  in 
these  times  the  most  devotion.  And  this  is  owing 
to  the  presence  of  a  simple-hearted  love,  and  the 
absence  of  anything  like  chill  and  cautious  calcula- 
tion in  their  action. 

Hence  it  comes  about  that  it  is  the  contributions 
of  the  feeblest  which  have  done  so  much  of  the 
work  of  the  world  so  far.  When  Whitefield  was 
pleading  for  his  orphan-house  in  Bethesda,  the 
poor  were  among  his  most  generous  givers  ;  on 
one  occasion  a  hundred  dollars  was  offered  in 
simple  half  pennies — more  than  his  porter  could 
carry  off  at  a  lift.  Five  thousand  church  mem- 
bers in  Jamaica  gave  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago 
thirty-five  thousand  dollars  to  Christian  work  ; 
these  were  emancipated  slaves  and  their  children. 
Recently  the  indigent  converts  in  Marash  sold  the 
copper  dishes  from  which  they  ate,  to  help  build 
a  church  edifice.  The  explanation  of  such  mani- 
fest wonders  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  hearts 
were  alive  with  interest,  and  then  the  people  had 
a  mind  to  work.  It  is  all  well  to  teach  our 
children  that  there  is  great  value  in  the  cup 
of  cold  water  given  to  a  poor  disciple  in  the 
name  of  Christ  ;  but  they  are  far  more  likely 
to  give  it  if  they  do  not  imagine  it  will  be 
more  welcome  when  dripped  off  the  end  of  an 
icicle. 


THE  bride's  presents.  43 

Panic  of  1857.  Nestorian  Christians. 

When  the  terrible  days  of  panic  were  over  the 
American  nation  in  1857,  crippHng-  every  one  of 
our  great  missionary  societies,  so  that  the  cry  of 
retrenchment  was  borne  passionately  across  to  the 
foreign  fields  of  effort,  workers  were  discharged 
and  missions  were  closed  Report  of  the  embar- 
rassments over  here  came  in  due  course  to  a  small 
band  of  Nestorian  Christians  in  Persia.  They  in- 
stantly summoned  an  assembly  to  consider  how 
they  might  act  so  as  to  bestow  help  the  most 
quickly  and  with  most  force.  The  meeting  was 
called  to  order  by  an  aged  believer,  who  began 
the  conference  by  a  distinct  allusion  to  the  costli- 
ness of  their  wedding  ceremonies  in  those  Oriental 
lands.  He  insisted  that  young  people  might  be 
married  in  plainer  costume.  "Now  here,"  he 
continued,  "  is  the  Church,  the  Bride  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  she  is  compelled  to  go  unpro- 
'  vided  for  to  her  Master's  palace  !  Cannot  we  join 
hands  to-day  to  give  her  a  fair  outfit  ?"  The  fig- 
ure seemed  at  once  to  arrest  the  imagination  of 
those  simple-hearted  and  loving  Christians,  and 
they  took  it  up. 

One  arose,  saying,  "  She  ought  at  least  to  have 
a  ring  ;  and  I  am  ready  to  offer  the  price  of  one 
now,  just  such  as  my  wife  received  when  she  was 
wedded  to  me."  Another  added  :  "  She  needs  a 
veil  quite  as  much,  and  I  will  see  that  the  Lamb's 
Bride  does  not  set  out  on  her  journey  to  her  hus- 
band's house  without  it."  Another  sprang  up 
with  the  exclamation,  "  She  can  never  go  on  foot 


44  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Beautiful  conception.  ]\Iar  Yohannan's  gift. 


over  the  mountains  ;  you  may  look  to  me  for  a 
horse  she  can  ride."  Still  another  caught  the 
symbol  in  his  grave,  sweet  way  :  "  How  beautiful 
are  thy  feet,  O  Prince's  Daughter  !  If  she  rides, 
she  will  have  to  wear  a  richer  pair  of  shoes  ; 
perhaps  I  might  be  permitted  to  clothe  her 
feet."  By  this  time  their  invention  was  put 
sorely  to  task.  One  more  spoke  out  somewhat 
awkwardly  :  "  Wedding  guns  are  fired  for  joy  •, 
I  will  give  two  cannon,  and  will  supply  ammuni- 
tion." 

Then  the  women,  who  knew  more  of  marriage 
necessities,  began  to  whisper  together.  A  maiden 
stood  up  modestly  and  said  :  "  Now  for  her  orna- 
ments !  I  have  some  of  my  own  I  can  spare." 
An  impulse  of  affectionate  generosity  moved  every 
heart.  One  old  man  said  he  had  nothing  but  a 
mat,  but  "  perhaps  the  Queen  would  deign  to 
put  her  feet  on  it  when  she  should  alight."  Then 
said  the  leader  :  "  What  is  she  to  eat  on  the 
way  ?"  One  of  the  landholders  answered,  "  You 
may  look  to  me  for  fifteen  outside  rows  of  my 
vineyard  next  the  sun."  During  this  excited  col- 
loquy there  had  been  sitting  in  the  assembly  no 
less  a  personage  than  Mar  Yohannan,  their  ruler. 
The  aged  leader  in  the  chair  shrewdly  asked  the 
question,  "  She  is  a  King's  daughter  and  a 
Prince's  bride;  who  is  to  give  her  a  crown?" 
And  then  the  ro3^al  guest  took  the  hint,  and  held 
up  his  hand. 

So  the  churches  in  America  were  thrilled  with 


THE   BRIDE  S   PRESENTS.  45 

A  new  notion.  A  trustful  bride. 

the  news  that  the  Nestorians  were  going  to  take 
care  of  themselves.  Oh,  when  the  heart  is  all 
right  and  loving,  what  is  there  it  will  not  do  for 
the  Bride,  which  is  the  Lamb's  wife,  on  her  way 
to  her  marriage  ? 

It  is  the  notion  we  have  of  contribution  which 
renders  so  plain  a  duty  pleasant  and  so  self-sacri- 
ficing an  exercise  welcome.  A  fine  high  imagina- 
tion of  a  beloved  friend  becoming  the  bride  of  a 
prince,  and  confidently,  lovingly,  trustfully  look- 
ing over  to  us  for  the  merest  decencies  of  her 
dowry  ;  asking  us  to  see  to  it  that  she  does  not 
go  to  her  husband  in  shame  of  pauper  garments  ; 
putting  out  her  hand  frankly  and  gratefully,  as  if 
she  knew  you  and  I  had  just  been  in  the  gift- 
chamber,  and  had  left  there  some  token  she  will 
have  time  to  look  at  by  and  bv  ;  this — this  is 
what  a  contribution-box  means  !  How  would 
this  daughter  of  Tyre  look  if  she  came  without 
her  gift  ? 


IV. 
"FOLDED   HANDS." 

"  Whereas  it  was  in  thine  heart  to  build  a  house  unto 

MY    name,    thou     didst    WELL     THAT     IT    WAS     IN     THINE    HEART  : 
nevertheless    thou     SHALT     NOT     BUILD    THE    HOUSE." — I    Kings 

8  :  i8,  19. 

These  words  are  found  in  Solomon's  biography, 
yet  they  belong  to  David's.  The  august  transac- 
tions which  joined  on  this  king's  reign  to  that  of 
his  father  had  reference  to  the  building  of  the 
fairest  and  finest  fabric  of  human  hands  that 
earthly  eyes  ever  saw.  There  are  songs  and  ser- 
mons about  it  all  along,  scattered  through  several 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  ;  the  narrative  ap- 
pears more  like  a  lyric  than  a  record,  more  like  a 
poetic  ode  of  triumph  than  a  sober  chronicle  of 
what  was  occurring. 

The  history  of  the  time  to  which  the  king  refers 
is  found  in  the  second  Book  of  Samuel.  The  chap- 
ter which  contains  it  divides  itself  into  verses  like 
the  strophes  of  a  psalm  ;  it  needs  no  definite  form 
of  analysis  to  make  it  clear.  Indeed,  it  will  ex- 
hibit its  meaning  better  by  an  appeal  to  our  im- 
agination, for  there  are  in  it  three  pictures  ;  out  of 
these  comes  admonition. 

I.  It  will  be  of  much  help  to  lay  alongside  of 
this  history  that  recorded  in  the  seventeenth  chap- 


FOLDED   HANDS.  47 


The  first  picture.  A  meditative  king. 

ter  of  First  Chronicles  ;  for  a  few  graphic  partic- 
ulars are  added  there  that  are  not  here. 

I.  The  first  picture  represents  a  great  Eastern 
king,  sitting  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his  eminent 
palace,  somewhere  about  three  thousand  years 
ago.  Evidently  he  was  wrapped  in  deep  and  seri- 
ous meditation.  This  building  had  been  lately 
erected  specially  for  his  use,  and  his  removal  into 
it  had  marked  an  era  in  his  personal  history.  Its 
beauty  filled  him  with  admiration  as  he  gazed 
upon  it  ;  it  made  him  reflective  and  pensive  as  the 
servants  came  and  went,  in  and  out,  before  him. 
How  had  he  risen  into  all  this  regal  honor,  and 
what  had  he  done  to  deserve  it  ? 

We  have  a  hint  even  as  to  his  thoughts  in  the 
interesting  hours  he  passed  that  day.  He  remem- 
bered how,  when  he  was  a  modest  shepherd-boy 
tending  his  father's  flocks  in  Bethlehem,  the 
strange  visit  had  been  made  to  him  by  a  venerable 
prophet  of  Jehovah  the  Lord.  That  old  man  had 
announced  to  him  that  one  day  he  was  to  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  Israel ;  and  then  he  had  anointed  his 
youthful  head  with  oil,  proclaiming  that  he,  a 
ruddy-cheeked  lad,  should  by  and  by  be  a  king 
and  rule  over  a  mighty  nation. 

Time  had  drifted  on  and  away  since  then. 
Singular  events  had  moulded  his  career  and  filled 
the  annals  of  the  people  with  unwonted  vicissi- 
tudes. Along  a  path  checkered  with  sunshine  as 
well  as  shadow,  he  had  been  steadily  advanced 
toward  the  prime  headship  that  was  promised;  he 


48  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  second  picture.  Nathan's  precipitancj'. 

was  now  the  sovereign,  his  permanent  home  was 
Jerusalem,  and  the  name  of  David  was  famous 
among  the  tribes  all  around  him.  Even  civil 
wars  had  ceased  ;  the  conflicts  of  succession  were 
ended  ;  all  was  peace  and  tranquillity. 

2.  The  second  picture  represents  this  monarch 
at  the  critical  moment  when  he  stirs  in  his  seat 
with  a  strong  emotion,  and  summons  instantly 
into  his  presence  the  prophet  of  the  Lord,  Nathan, 
lull  of  a  purpose  which  he  wished  to  communi- 
cate. The  very  magnificence  of  his  abode  had 
suggested  to  him  a  plan  for  an  extraordinary  deed 
of  consecration  and  religious  endeavor.  "  See 
now,"  he  sa3'S,  breaking  out  abruptly,  as  if  the 
idea  were  startling  to  himself,  "  even  I  dwell  in  a 
house  of  cedar,  but  the  Ark  of  God  dwelleth  within 
curtains  !"  That  was  quite  true.  Nearly  four 
hundred  years  had  passed  since  the  people  of  God 
had  entered  the  promised  land  and  secured  their 
permanent  resting-place  ;  but  as  3'et  no  building 
had  been  found  in  which  might  be  fittingly  located 
that  old  sacred  symbol  of  the  divine  presence. 
With  a  sort  of  shame  for  his  own  luxuriousness, 
David  now  proposed  a  building  which  he  would 
erect  and  devote  to  the  service  of  God. 

The  prophet  accepted  the  proposition  at  once  ; 
it  cannot  for  a  moment  be  doubted  that  he  was  in- 
tensely gratified.  Though  that  nation  had  ceased 
to  be  nomadic,  and  their  wilderness  tents  had  for 
centuries  been  unused,  there  was  this  chief  taber- 
nacle, with  its  badger-skin  covering,  still  standing 


FOLDED    HANDS.  49 


The  third  picture.  Consent  withdrawn. 

out  in  the  air.  Nathan  must  have  felt  that  the 
whole  affair  was  providential,  and  with  all  his 
heart  he  bade  the  king  proceed  ;  the  Lord  was 
with  him. 

3.  Our  third  picture  represents  the  same  king  a 
day  later.  The  prophet  comes  back  into  his  pres- 
ence, and  declares  that  his  permission  on  the  even- 
ing before  had  been  hasty,  and  could  not  abide  ; 
he  had  received  a  vision  during  the  night,  and  the 
divine  message  was  sent  to  him  that  he  must  tell 
the  monarch  that  such  an  acqviiescence  had  been 
inconsiderate  ;  the  Lord  was  pleased  in  seeing  the 
purpose  of  his  servant ;  but  the  fact  was,  David 
had  been  too  much  a  man  of  blood  for  this  under- 
taking ;  he  was  a  warrior  too  famous  to  be  fit  for 
so  holy  a  task  as  this  ;  the  spirit  he  showed  was 
praised  gently  and  generousl}^  but  the  proffer  of  a 
temple  was  declined.  Still,  Nathan  was  commis- 
sioned to  state  that  Solomon,  the  king's  son,  might 
undertake  this  work,  and  David  might  gather  the 
materials  and  raise  the  money  to  help  him. 

Now,  it  might  have  been  expected  of  most  men 
that  some  violent  explosion  of  disappointed  feel- 
ing would  have  marked  such  a  startling  and  severe 
denial  from  above.  But  the  records  of  the  king's 
experience  are  among  the  brightest  in  the  Bible. 
He  has  no  rebellious  feelings  ;  he  accepts  the  de- 
cision joyously  ;  it  is  enough  for  him  to  know  that 
the  Lord  will  let  him  have  anything  to  do  in  a  work 
so  grand  and  so  holy.  The  whole  of  the  chapter 
is  afterward  taken  up  with  a  strain  of  humble  and 


50  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Cruel  denials.  Prayers  kindly  unanswered. 

hopeful  gratitude  so  exquisite  that  it  sings  like  a 
psalm  of  thanksgiving. 

11.  Now,  out  of  this  comes  our  lesson  ;  it  is  sin- 
gle and  eminently  practical,  and  yet  it  will  not  be 
learned  unless  hearts  are  softened  to  meet  it,  and 
God's  Spirit  prepares  the  way.  It  is  addressed 
to  such  Christians  as  think  they  have  been  cruelly 
denied  the  wishes  of  their  lives,  and  are  now 
moving  in  some  secondary  sense  of  existence,  and 
are  likely  to  achieve  a  failure. 

1.  Let  us  understand  that  a  purpose  may  be  good, 
yet  providenee  may  see  Jit  to  deny  its  aeconiplisJunent 
— that  is  to  say,  God  may  take  the  will  for  the 
deed.  We  may  work  up  a  thrill  of  personal 
enthusiasm,  and  because  the  end  appears  supreme 
in  our  eyes  may  expect  that  Providence  wall  im- 
mediately accept  it  ;  but  the  question  is  not 
whether  the  plan  is  good,  but  whether  it  is  God's 
plan  for  us  in  which  to  serve  him.  Such  so-called 
crises  of  human  existence  are  sometimes  nothing 
more  or  less  than  mere  crises  of  human  will,  dic- 
tating to  God  what  ought  to  be  done. 

2.  Let  us  remember  that  a  wish  may  be  intense, 
and  yet  it  is  not  on  that  account  alone  to  be  granted. 
We  act  so  often  from  mixed  motives  that  we  are 
not  always  the  ones  to  know  whether  wishes  we 
cherish  are  not  wiles  of  the  devil.  The  day  has 
been  for  many  a  child  of  God,  when  he  struggled 
with  some  most  eager  and  passionate  desire  of  his 
heart ;  God  denied  it,  and  the  believer  has  lived 
to  thank  him  on  the  bended  knees  of  his  grateful 


FOLDED   HANDS.'  5  I 


Philippians  4  :  19.  Richard  the  lion-hearted. 

soul.  God  has  promised  to  grant,  not  what  we 
seek,  or  crave,  or  implore  ;  these  are  not  his 
words  ;  he  says  he  will  give  what  we  "  need." 

3.  Let  us  acknowledge  that  sontctimcs  a  human 
heart  is  too  full  of  unworthy  feeling  for  success  in 
high  spiritual  endeavor.  Hence  the  Lord  does  not 
intrust  this  to  such  agents.  Let  us  go  over  once 
more  the  exact  words  of  the  history  ;  what  does 
God  say  ? 

"  And  David  said  to  Solomon,  My  son,  as  for 
me,  it  was  in  my  mind  to  build  an  house  unto  the 
name  of  the  Lord  my  God  :  but  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  to  me,  saying,  Thou  hast  shed  blood 
abundantly,  and  hast  made  great  wars  :  thou  shalt 
not  build  an  house  unto  my  name,  because  thou 
hast  shed  much  blood  upon  the  earth  in  my 
sight." 

The  decision  turns  upon  previous  history  of  this 
monarch.  Character  had  in  his  case  progressed 
too  far  for  any  radical  change.  He  must  stand 
now  and  take  the  chances  which  his  life  had  fixed. 
To  some  the  language  may  seem  harsh  ;  if  David 
was  forgiven  as  a  true  believer,  why  not  trust  him 
in  the  undertaking  ?  This  hard  estimate  of  unfit- 
ness is  not  without  a  parallel  in  modern  experi- 
ence ;  what  is  it  to  be  a  "  man  of  blood  "  ?  Rich- 
ard Coeur-de-Lion  wrote  that  for  seven  whole 
years  he  would  not  suffer  himself  to  take  the  sacra- 
ment, because  he  was  conscious  of  angry  hatred 
in  his  heart  toward  the  monarch  of  France.  It  is, 
quite  possibly,  a  poignant  experience,  but  it  may 


52  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  Some  things  I  cannot  do."  Other  instruments. 

be  profitable  to  acknowledge,  "There  are  things 
I  cannot  do,  because  God  is  holier  than  I  am." 
For  this  will  leave  the  way  open  for  fresh  increase 
in  holiness  at  once  ;  and  it  also  settles  one's  mind 
down  to  give  over  impossibilities,  and  take  up 
what  is  legitimately  within  reach. 

4.  Let  us  admit  freely  that  an  intention  may  be 
excellent,  and  yet  have  to  be  surrendered  into  another  s 
hands.  This  plan  of  David  was  good,  but  it  was 
Solomon  who  was  to  carry  it  out — that  was  all. 
Solomon  puts  this  frankly  on  record  when  he  ends 
his  building,  and  stands  ready  for  the  dedication 
of  the  house  : 

"  And  it  was  in  the  heart  of  David  my  father  to 
build  an  house  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  David  my  father, 
Whereas  it  was  in  thine  heart  to  build  an  house 
unto  my  name,  thou  didst  well  that  it  was  in  thine 
heart  :  nevertheless  thou  shalt  not  build  the 
house  ;  but  thy  son,  that  shall  come  forth  out  of 
thy  loins,  he  shall  build  the  house  unto  my  name. 
And  the  Lord  hath  performed  his  word  that  he 
spake  ;  and  I  am  risen  up  in  the  room  of  David 
my  father,  and  sit  on  the  throne  of  Israel,  as  the 
Lord  promised,  and  have  built  an  house  for  the 
name  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel." 

The  fact  is,  God  may  choose  to  have  his  work 
finished  by  the  instruments  whom  he  selects,  and 
not  by  volunteers.  Just  observe  how  David  sings 
when  he  knows  he  has  still  the  chance  to  gather 
some  money,  and  bargain  for  timber,  and  '^rousc 


FOLDED    HANDS."  53 


Gladness  in  drudgeries.  David's  enthusiasm. 

some  zeal,  and  even  to  assume  the  merest  drudg- 
eries to  insure  Solomon's  success  : 

"  Furthermore  David  the  king  said  unto  all  the 
congregation,  Solomon  my  son,  whom  alone  God 
hath  chosen,  is  3^et  young  and  tender,  and  the 
work  is  great  ;  for  the  palace  is  not  for  man,  but 
for  the  Lord  God.  Now  1  have  prepared  with  all 
my  might  for  the  house  of  my  God  the  gold  for 
things  to  be  made  of  gold,  and  the  silver  for 
things  of  silver,  and  the  brass  for  things  of  brass, 
the  iron  for  things  of  iron,  and  wood  for  things  of 
wood  ;  onyx  stones,  and  stones  to  be  set,  glister- 
ing stones,  and  of  divers  colors,  and  all  manner  of 
precious  stones,  and  marble  stones  in  abundance. 
Moreover,  because  I  have  set  my  affection  to  the 
house  ot  my  God,  I  have  of  mine  own  proper 
good,  of  gold  and  silver,  which  I  have  given  to 
the  house  of  my  God,  over  and  above  all  that  I 
have  prepared  for  the  holy  house,  even  three 
thousand  talents  of  gold,  of  the  gold  of  Ophir,  and 
seven  thousand  talents  of  refined  silver,  to  overlay 
the  walls  of  the  houses  withal  :  the  gold  for  things 
of  gold,  and  the  silver  for  things  of  silver,  and 
for  all  manner  of  work  to  be  made  by  the  hands 
of  artificers.  And  who  then  is  willing  to  conse- 
crate his  service  this  day  unto  the  Lord  ?" 

What  can  it  matter  who  it  is  that  erects  the 
upper  courses  of  a  building,  when  the  lower 
courses  are  just  as  necessary  and  just  as  honor- 
able ?  Is  not  God  worshiped  by  the  edifice  as  a 
whole  ? 


54  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Can  a  life  be  ruined  ?  A  new  purpose. 

5.  But  now  let  us  seek  another  lesson,  and  we 
shall  find  that  it  will  help  in  the  impression  of  this 
one.  We  see  that  a  life  may  claim  to  be  ruined,  ami 
yet  mnch  of  value  may  be  left  in  it.  David  had  no 
notion  that  he  was  a  dashed  and  beaten  man  be- 
cause Nathan's  message  had  deprived  him  of  the 
hope  of  his  later  years.  It  is  a  grieved  sense  of 
hankering  after  old  and  denied  ambitions  that  in 
our  times  brings  most  hindrance  to  Christian 
efficiency.  Mere  morbid  feehng  is  destructive  of 
zeal  in  every  kind  of  labor.  When  a  man  has 
given  up  what  evidently  divine  providence  had 
never  designed  for  him,  let  him  cease  mourning 
over  it  ;  let  him  cheerfully  clear  his  mind  of  sore 
memories  of  it  ;  let  him  keep  away  from  associa- 
tions which  suggest  it.  It  is  given  as  one  of  the 
counsels  of  a  Jewish  rabbi,  that  a  child,  once 
bitten  by  a  serpent,  ought  to  fear  even  a  rope's 
end — that  is,  be  suspicious  of  everything  which 
looks  like  a  snake. 

6.  Let  us  believe  that  a  true  heart  may  be  appar- 
ently broken,  and  yet  remain  full  of  Joy.  Every 
now  and  then  we  fall  on  some  new  chapter  vVhich 
shows  King  David's  frank  delight  in  this  moderate 
task  which  had  been  permitted  to  him.  He  kin- 
dles that  whole  nation  with  his  enthusiasm,  and 
yet  his  first  sentence  of  address  is  a  candid  state- 
ment of  his  purpose  which  the  Lord  had  thwarted 
the  moment  he  mentioned  it,  and  then  of  the  pur- 
pose he  had  accepted  in  the  place  of  it,  making 
him  as  happy  as  a  child. 


FOLDED    HANDS.  55 


Albrecht  Durer.  The  two  pictures. 

Now,  let  us  only  add  an  illustration  of  this  whole 
thought,  and  finish  the  discourse.  I  hav^e  seen  the 
little  story  that  is  the  best  within  my  reach  to 
show  from  modern  biography  just  what  is  the 
counsel  which  I  have  been  trying  to  press.  But 
I  am  not  going  to  vouch  for  its  literal  truth  as  an 
incident  in  the  long  career  of  the  painter  with 
whose  name  it  stands  connected.  Still  it  will 
serve  us  here  for  a  compact  and  commonplace  dis- 
play of  real  life.  Two  boys.  Franz  Knigstein  and 
Albrecht  Durer,  once  lived  together  in  Nurem- 
berg ;  they  were  going  to  be  artists,  and  had 
entered  Michael  Wohlgemuth's  study  for  instruc- 
tion. The  parents  of  both  were  poor,  and  were 
struggling  to  keep  their  sons  at  their  work  until 
they  should  be  able  to  care  for  themselves.  Of 
these  two  pupils  the  master  knew  that  Albrecht 
possessed  genius,  but  Franz  would  never  make  a 
painter  of  v/hom  men  would  be  proud.  But  both 
were  industrious,  and  frugal,  and  affectionate. 
They  loved  each  other  tenderly,  and  were  kind 
and  faithful  unto  all  at  home.  Years  passed  on  ; 
one  went  to  Italy,  the  other  continued  study  in 
Germany.  Erelong  Franz  married,  and  by  and 
by  Albrecht,  and  the  old  people  died,  and  times 
were  hard,  and  art  was  dull.  Albrecht  feared 
that  Franz  had  not  the  artist  spirit,  and  could 
never  succeed.  Once  they  planned  together  to 
make  a  drawing  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  ; 
when  they  came  to  show  each  other  what  had 
been  accomplished,  the  picture  of  Franz  was  cold 


$6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  artist-spirit.  Folded  Hands. 

and  lifeless,  while  that  of  Albrecht  was  full  of 
beaiit3\  Franz  himself  saw  it  then.  He  was  in 
middle  life,  and  now  he  knew  he  had  been  so  far 
a  failure.  He  must  give  it  up  ;  he  could  not  be 
successful  as  an  artist.  But  he  did  not  complain  ; 
only  for  a  passionate  moment  he  buried  his  face  in 
his  hands.  Then  he  said  in  broken  tones,  though 
still  full  of  courage,  "  The  good  Lord  gave  me  no 
such  gift  as  this,  but  he  has  something  yet  for  me 
to  do  ;  some  homely  work  shall  be  found  for  me  ; 
I  was  blind  so  long,  so  much  time  I  have  lost  ;  be 
you  the  artist  of  Nuremberg,  and  I — " 

"  O  Franz,  be  quiet  an  instant  !"  exclaimed 
Albrecht  ;  and  a  quick  rush  was  made  to  the 
paper  before  him  on  the  table.  Only  a  few  lines 
with  a  swift  pencil  ;  Franz  thought  he  was  adding 
another  stroke  to  his  drawing,  and  waited  pa- 
tiently, leaning  over  the  mantel  with  his  fingers 
twined  and  clasped.  And  then,  next  day,  Al- 
brecht showed  his  friend  the  sheet  :  "  Why,  those 
are  only  my  own  hands,'  said  Franz  ;  "  where 
did  you  get  them  ?'  And  there  was  hardly  need 
of  an  answer  :  "  1  took  them  as  you  stood,  mak- 
ing the  sad  surrender  of  your  life  so  very,  very 
bravely  ;  and  I  murmured  to  myself,  those  hands 
that  may  never  paint  a  picture  can  now  most  cer- 
tainly make  one  ;  I  have  faith  in  those  folded 
hands,  my  brother-friend  !  they  will  go  to  men's 
hearts  in  the  years  to  come  !"  And  sure  enough, 
the  prophecy  was  true  ;  for  over  the  artistic  world 
has  gone  the  tale,  and  over  the  worlds  of  love  and 


FOLDED    HANDS."  57 


A  brave  surrender,  A  sermon  for  a  preacher. 

duty  has  gone  the  picture  ;  and  the  "  Folded 
Hands"  by  Albert  Durer  are  but  the  hands  of 
Franz  Knigstein,  once  folded  in  sweet,  brave 
resignation,  when  he  gave  up  his  dearest  wish, 
and  yet  beheved  the  good  Lord  had  a  homely 
duty  for  him  to  do  worth  the  doing. 

That  is  the  picture  which  hangs  up  over  my 
table,  and  has  hung  there  for  years — -a  mere  copy 
of  a  drawing  that  I  am  told  belongs  in  the  gallery 
of  Vienna.  What  it  means  is,  there  are  some 
things,  my  Christian  friend,  you  and  I  cannot  do. 
But  there  are  others  we  can  do  ;  and  we  can 
always  do  something  toward  accomplishing  a 
preparation  for  some  one  else  to  finish  ;  and  what 
matters  all  the  disappointment  to  us  if  only  the 
dear  Lord  gets  the  glory  ? 


V. 

THE   "MAGNIFICAT"    OF   MARY. 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath 
REJOICED  IN  God  my  Saviour." — Luke  i  :  46,  47. 

About  six  months  after  the  announcement  had 
been  made  to  Elisabeth  that  she  should  soon  be 
the  mother  of  John  the  Baptist,  Mary,  to  whom 
had  been  also  now  made  the  announcement  that 
she  should  become  the  mother  of  Jesus,  deter- 
mined to  visit  her  cousin  in  the  lower  hill-country 
of  Judea,  probably  near  the  town  of  Hebron. 

It  will  prove  an  interesting-  exercise  to  trace  on 
the  map  the  route  which  this  Jewish  maiden  must 
have  taken  in  going  down  across  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  from  Nazareth  southward.  It  was 
doubtless  the  same  general  path  to  which  she  had 
been  accustomed,  from  her  ordinary  journeys  to 
the  Holy  City,  at  the  solemn  annual  feasts.  But 
just  now  her  mind  was  in  a  strange  new  frame  of 
feeling.  Each  familiar  locality,  so  crowded  with 
history  and  devout  reminiscences  of  her  nation's 
annals,  would,  under  these  present  circumstances, 
make  on  her  imagination  a  far  deeper  impression 
than  usual.  We  must  remember  this,  for  it  gives 
help  in  the  interpretation  of  her  song. 


THE   "  MAGNIFICAT  "   OF   MARY.  59 

Mary's  journey.  The  "  hill-country." 

Out  from  under  the  shadows  of  western  hills, 
she  would  come  into  full  view  of  the  whole  coun- 
try, quite  across  to  Mount  Carmel,  on  the  deso- 
late ridge  of  which  Elijah  defied  and  conquered 
the  priests  of  Baal.  Megiddo,  where  Josiah  lay 
dying  ;  Jezreel,  where  Ahab  sinned  ;  the  brook 
Kishon,  beside  which  Deborah  sang,  after  Sisera 
was  slain — these  were  close  at  her  feet.  Before 
long  she  would  arrive  at  Shechem,  and  seem  to 
hear  the  old  burden  of  cursing  and  blessing  echo- 
ing from  Ebal  and  Gerizim.  Perhaps  she  paused 
a  moment  beside  Joseph's  grave  ;  perhaps  she  sat 
to  rest,  and  quenched  her  thirst  at  Jacob's  well. 
A  little  farther  down  she  would  reach  Jerusalem, 
"  beautiful  on  the  sides  of  the  north,"  and  catch 
glimpses  of  the  golden-roofed  temple  shining  in 
the  sun.  Diminutive  Bethlehem  next  would  hare 
to  be  passed,  and  her  tired  feet  would  tread  the 
lonely  path  that  goes  by  Rachel's  tomb.  Her 
eyes  would  roam  over  the  verdured  fields  where 
David  tended  his  father's  flocks,  and  caught  the 
starry  figures  of  the  eighth  and  the  nineteenth 
psalms.  And  while  she  lingered  on  such  a  spot, 
she  would  think  of  Ruth  returning  with  Naomi 
after  bidding  Orpah  farewell.  Hard  hills  are 
those  which  now  she  would  have  to  climb,  before 
she  could  reach  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  or  dis- 
cover the  small  houses  of  Hebron  in  the  distance. 

Of  this  we  have  no  detail.  But  it  aids  us  much 
afterward  to  keep  it  in  mind  ;  for  it  shows  how 
she  went  thinking  all  the  way  to  her  destination. 


6o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Women  understand  women.  Confidence  restored. 

We  meet  her  first  in  the  story  in  the  presence  of 
Elisabeth,  dwelling,  perhaps,  almost  beneath  the 
shade  of  Abraham's  oak  in  Mamre. 

The  description  of  that  interview  arrests  our 
imagination  powerfully.  Art  has  loved  to  dwell 
upon  it  ;  and  the  Eastern  galleries  are  full  of  pict- 
ures by  the  most  eminent  masters.  But  such  a 
scene  is  too  simple  and  too  majestic  for  a  paint- 
ing. It  is  likely  we  should  get  no  good  from  what 
we  find  on  canvas  ;  almost  all  that  we  read  of 
show  Elisabeth  as  a  withered  old  woman,  and  in 
even  the  best  of  them  Mary  looks  quiet  and  tame 
in  her  bashful  demeanor. 

We  conceive  more  nobly  of  the  spectacle,  when 
we  rest  contented  with  the  sublime  words  of 
Scripture.  Good  Bishop  Hall  says  well  :  "  Only 
the  meeting  of  saints  in  heaven  can  parallel  this 
meeting  of  these  two  cousins.  The  two  wonders 
of  the  world  are  met  under  one  roof,  and  congrat- 
ulate their  mutual  happiness.  Grief  grows  greater 
by  concealment  ;  joy,  by  expression  ;  happiness 
communicated  doubles  itself." 

The  dialogue  is  brief  ;  those  two  women  talked 
together  as  only  two  women  could  talk  who  per- 
fectly understood  each  other.  Mary  heard  Elisa- 
beth say  :  "  Whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother 
of  my  Lord  should  come  tome?"  Her  troubles 
had  been  so  hard,  her  joys  had  been  so  great,  and 
her  silent  heart  had  been  so  full  of  both  of  them, 
that  her  relief  must  have  been  sudden  and  over- 
whelming.    When  the  sweet  face  of  that  pure  un- 


THE   "magnificat"    OF   MARY,  6l 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify."  The  best  Psalter. 

married  maiden  saw  in  the  jojous  countenance  of 
that  incorruptible  Jewish  matron  the  sign  that  she 
would  be  welcomed  as  faultless  and  true,  oh,  in 
that  supreme  moment,  she  could  answer  only  with 
a  song,  and  pour  forth  her  gratitude  in  nothing 
less  than  the  inspired  numbers  of  a  New  Testa- 
ment psalm  ! 

It  is  that  psalm  we  now  propose  to  study  in 
detail.  In  ecclesiastical  history  it  is  named  the 
"  Magnificat,"  from  the  word  in  it  which  in  the 
Latin  Vulgate  means  "doth  magnify."  There- 
formed  churches  have  admitted  it  into  the  ancient 
liturgies.  So  it  is  often  sung  in  the  services  of 
Christendom  by  thousands  of  tongues. 

I.  Let  us  look,  first,  at  a  few  of  its  external 
characteristics.  It  is  worth  much  just  in  itself  as 
a  Christian  hymn. 

1.  Begin  with  the  poetry  of  it.  It  strikes  us 
with  wonder  in  these  modern  days  that  a  peasant 
woman  of  Galilee  should  be  able  to  chant  in  so 
exalted  a  strain.  But  we  know  "  a  pure  heart 
makes  the  best  psalter. ' '  And  she  was  speaking 
out  of  the  abundance  of  hers.  Yet  never  was 
such  an  occasion,  never  was  such  an  angelic  prep- 
aration ;  never — surely  never  before — was  such 
a  theme  !  Israel's  Messiah  was  on  his  way,  God 
was  about  to  manifest  himself  on  earth  in  the  flesh  ! 

2.  Observe  also  the  Israelitish  aspect  of  the 
song. .  It  would  be  easy  to  parallel  almost  every 
expression  in  Mary's  poetry,  by  an  utterance  very 
similar  in  the  anthems  of  the  temple  service.     The 


62  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

An  "  ideal  Puritan  maiden."  Mary's  devotion, 

mechanical  structure  is  not  very  difficult  ;  for  the 
Hebrew  and  Syriac  languages  are  easily  wrought 
into  rhymeless  verses.  There  is  extant  now  a 
gospel  in  Hebrew  ;  those  who  can  read  it  are  in- 
terested in  noting  the  idioms  followed  here  in  the 
Magnificat.  The  mind  of  this  woman  was  filled 
with  the  old  prophets'  imagery.  Her  whole 
thoughts  were  tinged  with  what  she  had  studied 
and  committed  to  memory.  So  this  song  has 
been  exquisitely  compared  to  what  might  have 
been  expected  from  "  some  ideal  Puritan  maiden," 
whose  mind  was  so  imbued  and  saturated  with  the 
Scriptural  forms  of  expression  that  it  would  fall 
unconsciously  into  inspired  phrases  when  she 
spoke. 

3.  Then,  observe  the  femininity  of  this  song. 
No  one  but  the  queen  of  her  sex  could  possibly 
have  composed  the  Magnificat.  Mark  the  deli- 
cacy of  turn  in  the  sentences,  the  mingling  of  dig- 
nity with  humility  ;  the  majesty,  as  sublime  as 
Ezckiel's,  and  the  tenderness,  more  gentle  than 
John's.  For  this  shows  the  mind  and  heart  of 
just  the  one  woman  whom  Elisabeth  could  call  the 
"  Mother  of  her  Lord." 

II.  Let  us  move  on  now,  to  consider,  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  a  few  of  the  internal  characteristics  of 
this  matchless  song. 

I.  Most  prominent  here,  observe  Mary's  iiistant 
devotion.  She  does  not  pause  to  return  Elisabeth's 
greeting  ;  she  does  not  wait  to  pass  back  the  con- 
gratulation ;    she   seems   to    think   only    of     God 


THE   "magnificat"    OF   MARY.  63 

The  new  word  "  Saviour."  Personal  humility, 

above.  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord  !"  She 
comes  forth  hke  Hannah,  in  the  older  time,  with 
a  full  ascription  at  the  first  beginning  :  "  My  heart 
rejoiceth  in  the  Lord  ;  mine  horn  is  exalted  in  the 
Lord."  A  maiden  without  any  companions,  and 
without  even  a  timbrel,  she  sets  Miriam's  song  to 
new  music  :  "  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously  !"  How  ahke  devout  these 
female  voices  seem  ! 

2.  Then,  notice  her  evangelic  faith.  She  is  thor- 
oughly orthodox  in  the  gospel.  She  sings  :  "  My 
spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour."  Mary, 
then,  felt  need  of  a  Saviour,  just  as  much  as  any 
one  else.  There  is  here  no  intimation  of  a  "  Ma- 
donna" of  sinless  perfection.  "  And  blessed  is  she 
that  believed  ;  for  there  shall  be  a  performance  of 
those  things  which  were  told  her  from  the  Lord." 
She  was  blessed  in  that  she  "  believed."  So  she 
knew  her  sins  would  be  forgiven,  because  there 
should  be  "  a  performance  of  those  things  which 
were  told  her  from  the  Lord."  A  great  word 
this,  "  Saviour  ;"  here  first  it  appears  in  the  New 
Testament  ;  the  word  which  the  heathen  orator 
said  afterward  he  found  on  a  tomb  that  he  passed 
on  one  of  his  journeys  :  "Sahator  ;  a  new  word, 
but  very  beautiful,  as  it  appears  to  me." 

3.  Next,  we  see  her  personal  Jnimility.  How 
sweetly  she  says  :  "  He  hath  regarded  the  low 
estate  of  his  handmaid"  !  What  was  this  Galilean 
damsel,  poor  and  lonely  now,  that  she  should 
have  been  sinorlcd  out  for  so  exalted  a  lot  ?     There 


64  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  happiest  woman  in  history.  Peerlessly  ambitious. 

is  in  her  whole  demeanor  during-  this  pathetic 
part  of  her  history  an  unusual  poise  and  serenity. 
She  was  not  even  frightened  or  abashed  by  the 
angel  ;  she  meekly  received  his  announcement, 
neither  overcome  nor  unduly  elated  in  her  pros- 
pects. As  she  acquiesced  then,  she  sings  now  : 
"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  ;  be  it  unto 
me  according  to  thy  word." 

4.  Now,  put  with  this  her  lofty  ambition.  Her 
heart  rises  to  its  supreme  elevation  at  the  next 
utterance.  For  this  is  the  last  Mary  speaks  of 
herself  ;  all  the  rest  of  the  song  is  about  God. 
She  sings  :  "  From  henceforth  all  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed  ;  for  he  that  is  mighty  hath 
done  to  me  great  things."  She  is  glad  with  her 
whole  heart  that  the  chance  is  going  to  be  given 
to  her  to  become  a  blessing.  Watch  the  lan- 
g-uage  ;  not — They  shall  call  me  rich,  and  pros- 
pered, and  honored,  and  famous,  but — They  shall 
bless  me  for  what  I  peril  my  life  to  bring  to 
them.  She  is  peerlessly  ambitious  to  do  good. 
It  penetrates  and  sways  her  whole  being  with  un- 
utterable joy  to  think  of  the  souls  she  will  gladden 
when  they  come  to  learn  that  she  offers  to  the 
world  its  Redeemer  and  Christ. 

5.  This  is  what  prompts  her  voluminous  praise. 
Here  are  several  verses  now  that  mention  the 
divine  attributes  one  by  one.  Mary  makes  each 
in  succession  record  God's  glory  in  a  new  light. 
Over  and  over  again  in  her  mind  she  turns  her 
thought,   as  one    would  turn   the   choicest  jewel 


THE   "magnificat"    OF   MARY.  65 

Divine  attributes.  How  much  had  Mary  traveled  ? 

in  his  hand,  in  order  to  find  a  fresh  facet  to 
shine. 

God's  holiness,  first  :  "  For  he  that  is  mighty 
hath  done  to  me  great  things  ;  and  holy  is  his 
name."  It  was  as  if  a  notion  of  his  infinite  purity 
had  entered  her  heart  anew,  when  that  angel  had 
said  :  "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee, 
and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee  ;  therefore,  also,  that  holy  thing  which  shall 
be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God." 

T^^en  God's  grace  :  "  His  mercy  is  on  them 
that  fear  him."  Oh,  how  much  more  meaning 
than  ever  before  did  those  ancient  words  have  to 
Mary  now  :  "  From  generation  to  generation"  ! 
What  a  worthy  line  of  ancestry  she  had  had,  and 
how  affecting  was  the  thought  that  the  covenant 
of  Almighty  God  with  the  Father  of  the  Faithful 
was  perpetuated  through  herself  and  this  wonder- 
ful Child  for  all  coming  ages  ! 

God's  power  likewise  :  "  He  hath  shewed 
strength  with  his  arm."  Just  how  much  of  op- 
portunity to  observe  physical  energy  in  exercise 
Mary  had  enjoyed,  we  do  not  know.  Nazareth 
was  high  among  the  south  ridges  of  the  mountains 
of  Lebanon,  and  was  not  far  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean which  taught  David  all  he  knew  about 
ocean  storms.  But  if,  all  the  way  down  from 
home  to  Hebron,  she  had  been  thinking — thinking 
— as  we  have  been  led  to  conjecture,  she  certainly 
must  have  recollected  many  a  history,  suggested 
by  hillside  and  plain,    which   would   exhibit  the 


66  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Abraham's  old  outlook.  A  maiden's  patriotism. 


power  of  Jehovah  in  scattering  by  the  breath  of 
his  wrath  enemies  who  were  "  proud  in  the  imag- 
ination of  their  hearts." 

So  next,  God's  justice  ;  the  great  retributions 
of  divine  providence  always  had  found  their  right 
objects  :  "  He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from 
their  seats,  and  exalted  them  of  low  degree." 
Mary  at  that  moment  was  not  far  from  the  very 
spot  from  which  Abraham  looked  when  he  saw 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  smoking  as  if  from  the  de- 
struction of  a  furnace. 

Then,  God's  beneficence  also  ;  this  she  knew 
was  generous,  but  discriminating  ;  her  own  ex- 
perience taught  her  what  she  now  said  in  the 
song.  Her  heart  had  never  been  opulent  with 
graces,  but  surely  it  had  often  enough  been  filled 
with  longing,  and  so  she  knew  that  it  was  God's 
way  to  fill  "  the  hungry"  with  good  things,  but 
"  the  rich"  would  be  sent  empty  away,  until  they 
should  learn  humility. 

6.  One  thing  more  in  this  wonderful  song 
claims  our  attention.  Observe  Mary's  magnificent 
patriotism.  For  she  passes  almost  unconsciously 
from  God's  attributes  to  God's  people.  She 
thinks  of  that  ancient  covenant  he  had  made  with 
"  his  servant  Israel."  With  the  full  sense  at  last 
ot  the  glory  of  her  royal  lineage  dawning  brightly 
upon  her  imagination,  this  maiden  speaks  of  "  our 
fathers,"  and  of  "  Abraham  and  his  seed  forever." 
She  must  have  seen  how  intricately  her  history 
had  been  linked  with  the  choice  heroic  annals  of 


THE   "magnificat"   OF   MARY.  67 

Raphael's  Madonna.  Retiring  out  of  notice. 

her  race  from  the  far  beginning-.  Here  is  where 
art  has  for  once  offered  a  little  help  to  our  imagi- 
nations. One  of  the  noblest  conceptions  of  that 
greatest  master  of  painting,  Raphael,  is  found  in 
the  simple  roll  of  ancient  parchment  he  has  placed 
in  Mary's  lap,  while  she  fixes  her  eye  on  the 
vacant  distance,  as  if  in  profound  thought  over  the 
new  discovery  she  has  made  that  her  life  has  all 
along  had  a  place  in  the  grand  purpose  of  Israel's 
covenant  of  grace.  And  so  here  the  finest  thing 
in  the  Magnificat  is  this  adoring  ascription  of 
praise  to  God  for  what  he  had  done  for  her  coun- 
try and  her  race.  "  He  hath  liolpen  his  servant 
Israel  in  remembrance  of  his  mercy  ;  as  he  spake 
to  our  fathers,  to  Abraham,  and  to  his  seed  for- 
ever !"  A  great  lesson  is  this  ;  that  nation  may 
well  be  considered  safe,  when  only  the  women 
and  mothers  that  dwell  in  it  are  patriots. 

Just  two  reflections  remain  for  closing  our 
study.  One  is  this  :  How  easily  Mary  retires 
now  from  her  conspicuousness  !  One  immortal 
song  she  has  given  to  the  world  and  the  church  ; 
but  it  was  her  swan-song  as  a  poetess.  She  sub- 
sides quietly  hereafter  into  the  mother  and  the 
wife.  She  appears  in  the  story  of  Jesus'  life 
often  ;  still,  it  is  not  recorded  that  she  ever  said 
or  sung  anything  more  that  is  extraordinary. 
Think  how  noble  it  seems  to  be  ready  to  come 
into  notice  for  God,  just  as  he  will,  and  then  go 
out  of  it,  just  as  he  will,  into  quiet  waiting  and 
restful  service,  without  repining  ! 


68  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Mary's  Saviour.  "  Who  is  my  mother  ?" 

The  other  reflection  is  this  :  Spiritually,  any 
one  now  can  be  aR  that  Mary  was  to  Jesus  ;  spirit- 
ually, any  one  can  have  all  that  Jesus  was  to 
Mary.  He  was  her  "Saviour;"  she  was  his 
"  mother."  Let  us  read  over  together  the  famil- 
iar verses  in  Matthew's  gospel  : 

"  While  he  yet  talked  to  the  people,  behold,  his 
mother  and  his  brethren  stood  without,  desiring 
to  speak  with  him.  Then  one  said  unto  him,  Be- 
hold, thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  without, 
desiring  to  speak  with  thee.  But  he  answered 
and  said  unto  him  that  told  him,  Who  is  my 
mother  ?  and  who  are  my  brethren  ?  And  he 
stretched  forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples,  and 
said,  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !  For 
whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister, 
and  mother." 


VI. 

THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS. 

"I  WILL  DECLARE  THY  NAME  UNTO  MY  BRETHREN:  IN  THE 
MIDST  OF  THE  CONGREGATION  WILL  I  PRAISE  THEE." — Fsal/fl  22  :  22. 

There  is  some  reason  for  believing  that  Jesus 
our  Saviour  repeated  the  twenty-second  psalm 
entirely  while  suspended  on  the  cross  in  the  ago- 
nies of  the  crucifixion.  We  know  that  he  spoke 
aloud  the  opening  sentences  of  it  :  "  My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  And  there 
are  some  scholarly  and  careful  expositors  who  tell 
us  that  the  final  expression  in  it — that  last  clause 
with  which  our  version  awkwardly  closes  (  '  that 
he  hath  done  this") — if  rendered  exactly  in  trans- 
lation, would  read,  "  It  is  finished,"  which,  as  we 
all  remember,  was  another  of  our  Lord's  utter- 
ances on  Calvary. 

It  may  be  that  with  one  bitter  cry  under  the 
darkness  and  desolation,  which  is  recorded,  his 
speech  collapsed  into  silence,  and  that  then  only 
his  mind  took  up  the  remaining  verses  into  medita- 
tion and  rehearsal.  At  any  rate,  we  quite  under- 
stand he  was  educated  to  great  familiarity  with 
all  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  often  ad- 
duced them  in  argument  with  an  aptness  which 
showed  an  evident  acquaintance  with    each   im- 


70  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

This  strange  psalm.  The  Messiah's  song. 

portant  passage.  And,  surely,  in  his  studies  con- 
cerning his  own  Messiahship,  he  must  have  fast- 
ened deeply  in  memory  such  sentences  as  these  : 
"  They  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet ,'"  "  They 
part  my  garments  among  them  and  cast  lots  upon 
my  vesture  ;"  "  They  shake  the  head,  saying,  He 
trusted  on  the  Lord  that  he  would  deliver  him  ; 
let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  delighted  in  him  !" 
Think  a  moment  upon  the  dramatic  force  of  such 
expressions,  when  repeated  in  the  act  of  crucifix- 
ion, all  of  which  are  found  in  this  psalm. 

Now  that  we  know  the  exact  history  of  this 
awful  scene,  how  wonderful  seem  the  words  of 
description,  penned  a  full  thousand  years  before 
Jesus  was  born  !  But  what  renders  the  question 
— whether  Christ  rehearsed  these  predictions  or 
not  during  those  suffering  moments  w^hile  he  was 
accurately  fulfilling  them — of  more  interest  to  us 
is  the  fact  that  among  the  verses  is  found  a  state- 
ment amounting  to  a  literal  promise  that  the  Mes- 
siah, at  the  very  height  of  his  grand  offering  of 
atonement,  should  deliver  an  address.  For  he 
says  :  "  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  breth- 
ren :  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  praise 
thee." 

If  there  be  any  remaining  doubt  as  to  the 
person  to  whom  so  startling  an  announcement 
belongs,  it  is  relieved  by  the  plain  reference  of 
the  entire  passage,  which  we  find  in  the  epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  There  the  language  of  the  twenty- 
second   psalm    is   ascribed   directly   and    without 


THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS.  7I 

Christ  crucified  preaching.  Christ  crucified  preached. 

change  to  Jesus.  And  in  that  place,  likewise, 
you  will  be  pleased  to  discover  an  explanation  of 
what  the  Psalmist  must  have  meant  by  that  which 
he  here  calls  "  the  congregation."  It  is  interest- 
ing to  note  these  verses,  as  Paul  quotes  David, 
and  unhesitatingly  gives  David's  words  to  Jesus  : 

"  For  both  he  that  sanctifieth  and  they  who  are 
sanctified  are  all  of  one  ;  for  which  cause  he  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  saying,  I  will  de- 
clare thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in  the  midst  of 
the  Church  will  I  sing  praise  unto  thee." 

What  David  calls  "  the  congregation"  is,  there- 
fore, the  assembly  of  those  "  who  are  sanctified  "; 
and  what  the  Messiah  is  represented  as  calling  his 
"brethren"  is  the  "Church."  Hence,  a  most 
weighty  and  most  welcome  declaration  is  this  : 
the  Lord  of  Glory,  even  in  agony,  speaks  from 
the  Cross  to  the  Church. 

What  a  pulpit,  what  an  audience,  what  a 
preacher  !  We  have  received  from  the  sacred 
record  one  Sermon  on  the  Mount  ;  here  is  an- 
other. Calvary  is  a  lowlier  hill  than  Hattin,  but 
this  Sermon  on  the  Cross  is  a  grander  discourse  ; 
for  Christ  crucified  is  preached  by  the  lips  of  a 
crucified  Christ  ! 

It,  surely,  is  not  necessary  to  ask  or  to  answer 
what  were  the  words  which  Jesus  spoke  during 
the  hours  while  he  was  dying.  For  they  are 
enduringly  familiar  to  us  all.  But  our  special 
purpose  with  them  just  now  requires  that  we 
carefully  contemplate  their  order  of  arrangement 


72                               SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  Messiah's  Sermon. 

Words  for  thieves. 

and  their  relation  to  each  other.  There  are 
known  to  be  exactly  seven  of  them  in  all — the 
seven  distinct  heads  to  this  Sermon  on  the  Cross. 
One  is  given  us  by  Matthew,  Mark  repeats  the 
same,  Luke  records  three  more,  and  to  these  John 
adds  three. 

The  first  was  a  prayer  for  his  executioners. 
The  soldiers  were  brutal,  the  populace  ignorant 
and  harsh  ;  but  at  the  moment  when  any  one 
would  think  our  Lord  was  going  to  utter  a  denun- 
ciation wilder  than  an  apostle's  "  Anathema,"  you 
hear  only  the  tenderness  of  supplication,  backed 
with  the  charity  of  an  excuse.  Then  said  Jesus  : 
"  Father,  forgive  them  ;  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do  1" 

After  this  comes  silence.  Time  passes  on. 
Suffering  deepens.  A  thief,  crucified  on  another 
cross,  set  beside  Christ's  in  order  to  shame  him 
the  more,  becomes  penitent  for  his  sin,  and  has 
faith  in  Jesus  sufficient  to  surrender  to  him  as  a 
Saviour.  He  exclaims  :  "  Lord,  remember  me 
when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom."  That  cry 
was  not  lifted  unheard.  The  head  of  Jesus  in- 
stantly turned — in  pain,  but  in  pity — till  eye  met 
eye  ;  and  then  the  lips  spoke  the  second  time, 
grandest  words  of  pardon  and  promise  :  "  Verily, 
I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt  ihou  be  with  me  in 
Paradise." 

Now  again  ensues  quiet,  and  the  hour  wears 
wearily  on.  A  little  company  of  dear  friends  are 
sitting   at   the    foot    of   the    cross  ;    amonj   them 


THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS.  73 

A  mother  bequeathed.  Jesus  saith,  ''  I  thirst." 

Mary^  Jesus'  mother,  and  John,  the  disciple 
Jesus  loved  specially.  Higher  relationships  were 
beginning-  to  over-ride  the  lower.  It  was  time  to 
say  farewell  to  all  earthly  ties.  Jesus  seems  here 
to  make  his  will.  Alas  !  what  a  death-bed,  and 
yet  what  a  testament  !  A  living  mother  is  be- 
queathed as  a  comfort  and  a  care.  Thus  he  spoke 
the  third  time  :  "  Woman,  behold  thy  son  !" 
And  when  John's  eager  look  was  raised  to  his,  he 
simply  added,  forestalling  all  thanks  and  exacting 
no  conditions  :   "  Behold  thy  mother  !" 

The  next  three  of  these  utterances  seem  to  be 
official.  The  Saviour  himself  is  the  subject  of 
each  in  turn.  Hence  his  priestly  work,  his  pro- 
phetic, and  his  kingly  are  all  mentioned. 

Down  in  the  depths  of  awful  desertion,  as  he 
lay — the  Lamb  of  God — upon  the  altar  of  atone- 
ment, bearing  the  curse  of  sin  in  his  person,  he 
cried  :  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  ?" 

Then,  as  he  came  up  a  little  wa)^  out  of  the 
depth  of  the  darkness,  perhaps  saying  over  the 
rest  of  the  twenty-second  psalm,  he  recalled  one 
prediction  as  yet  unanswered  by  any  fact.  David 
had  said  this  in  his  seer-vision  :  "  They  gave  me 
also  gall  for  my  meat,  and  in  my  thirst  they  gave 
me  vinegar  to  drink."  Christ  would  be  reminded 
of  that  prophecy  of  the  Messiah,  the  moment  that 
in  his  rehearsal  he  met  the  verse  :  "  My  strength 
is  dried  up  hke  a  potsherd,  and  my  tongue  cleav- 
eth   to   my  jaws."     There  can  be  no  doubt  that 


74  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  It  is  finished."  A  decorous  greeting. 

Jesus  felt  natural  desire  for  drink  under  the  fever 
of  crucifixion  ;  but  his  motive  in  that  wild  call  for 
some  refreshment  was  more  the  wish  to  keep 
Scripture  record  clear.  You  will  miss  much  if 
you  neglect  the  most  strange  and  suggestive  lan- 
guage here  :  "  After  this,  Jesus,  knowing  that  all 
things  were  now  accomplished,  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled,  saith,  I  thirst." 

Then,  glancing  over  all  the  past  and  on  into  the 
future,  he  rose  to  the  height  of  proclamation,  and 
said  "  with  a  loud  voice,"  as  it  merited  :  "  It  is 
finished  !" 

Only  one  thing  more  remained.  As  a  sovereign 
leaves  his  throne  sometimes  for  the  field,  in  order 
to  subdue  a  rebel  province,  so  Christ  had  put  off 
his  royal  purple  and  his  celestial  crown,  that  he 
might  become  the  Captain  of  Salvation  on  this 
revolted  planet.  His  military  work  was  now 
done.  As  that  sovereign  returns  victorious,  with 
all  his  triumphs  on  his  brow  and  his  captives  in 
his  train,  announcing  in  the  presence  of  his  army 
that  the  campaign  is  ended,  so  Jesus  at  last  gives 
the  note  of  a  closed  conflict,  and  the  signal  for 
leaving  the  plain  on  the  immediate  march  to  the 
capital.  He  is  going  at  once,  the  prince  royal,  to 
the  royal  abode.  A  message  beforehand  seems 
becoming. 

So  he  speaks  his  seventh  word.  There  upon 
the  tree  of  humiliation  he  sends  tranquilly  aloft 
into  the  not  distant  ear  of  the  Infinite  One 
his  final  utterance — a  mere  decorous  greeting  to 


THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS.  75 

The  Sermon  in  the  Song.  Heads  of  discourse. 

his  Father  :  "  Into  thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit  !" 

"  And  having  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost. " 
These  seven  expressions,  then,  constitute  the 
fulfihnent  Jesus  made  of  the  Messianic  promise 
recorded  in  the  psalm.  They  are  significant  even 
when  detached  and  separate  ;  but  you  will  feel 
their  full  power  the  more  when  )''ou  consider  their 
order,  the  line  of  consecutive  thought  in  which 
they  occur. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  way  in  which  they  can  more 
vividly  be  grouped  together  than  by  adopting  the 
ancient  conventional  form  of  memorizing  em- 
ployed by  classic  orators  in  recalling  the  points  of 
a  speech.  They  used  to  localize  the  heads  of  dis- 
course by  fastening  them  in  imaginative  connec- 
tion around  on  the  conspicuous  parts  of  the  build- 
ing. Hence  came  our  phraseology,  "  in  the  first 
place,"  or  "the  second  place,"  and  soon.  Let 
us  reverently  conceive  the  Saviour  in  the  very 
posture  of  crucifixion,  turning  his  head,  and  pick- 
ing up  one  suggestion  after  another  with  the 
glances  of  his  eye,  as  the  progress  of  his  thought 
shifts  the  subject  of  remark.  Our  question  is  : 
Why  did  he  say  the  first  thing  first,  and  the  next 
thing  next,  and  all  the  rest  in  just  that  succession 
he  chose  ?  Imagine  him,  if  you  will,  surrounded 
by  concentric  circles  of  hearers — ^some  remote,  as  it 
were,  some  near  at  hand — and  touching  each  in  turn. 

He  looks  away  from  him — sees  the  crucifiers, 
and  utters  his  cry  for  their  forgiveness.     He  looks 


76  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Journey  of  Jesus'  mind.  Subjects,  Prince,  King. 

beside  him — sees  the  penitent  thief,  and  utters  his 
welcome  to  Paradise.  He  looks  beneath  him  — 
sees  his  mother,  and  utters  his  bequeathal  of  her 
to  her  new  son.  He  looks  above  him — sees  the 
mantle  already  drawn  across  his  Father's  face, 
and  utters  his  lament  of  desolation.  He  looks 
within  him — sees  his  poor  weakness  of  thirst,  and 
utters  his  acknowledgment  of  the  reminder  it 
makes  that  Scripture  must  be  fulfilled.  He  looks 
around  him — sees  the  Messiah's  work  all  along- 
the  toiling,  waiting  centuries,  and  utters  his  tii- 
umphant  announcement  that  he  has  completed  it. 
He  looks  before  him — sees,  far  through  the 
bounds  of  earthly  vision,  his  Father's  face,  and 
knows  his  favor  is  restored,  and  then  utters  his 
peaceful  surrender. 

Any  one,  therefore,  can  readily  perceive  the 
journey  of  Jesus'  mind  by  these  impressive  words 
coming  out  now  and  then  to  mark  its  course. 
He  begins  on  the  extreme  outskirts  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  works  up  toward  the  throne 
which  is  its  centre.  He  starts  with  the  subjects  ; 
he  continues  with  the  Prince  ;  he  ends  with  the 
King.  He  divides  the  subjects  into  three  classes, 
according  to  their  spiritual  distance  ;  he  predi- 
cates three  conditions  of  the  Prince,  according  to 
the  progress  and  achievements  of  his  work  ;  and 
then  he  ascribes  all  supremacy  to  the  King,  by 
yielding  himself  to  his  hands. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Cross,  so  it  follows,  is  thor- 
oughly logical,   and   is  actually   founded   upon  a 


THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS.  7/ 

The  Sermon  plan  in  full.  Two  lessons. 

symmetrical  analysis  most  exquisite  in  structure. 
These  may  be  seen  to  be  the  particulars  in  fair 
order, 

I.   The  subjects  of  the  Kingdom. 

1.  The  hardened  and  unconcerned.  A  prayer 
for  them  :   "  Father,  forgive  them." 

2.  The  penitent  and  believing.  The  acceptance 
of  them  :   "  To-day  with  me  in  Paradise." 

3.  The  accepted  and  beloved.  A  care  toward 
them  :   "  Behold  thy  mother — thy  son." 

II.  The  Prince  of  the  Kingdom. 

1.  The  priestly  Victim.  Under  vicarious  guilt  ; 
hence,  forsaken. 

2.  The  prophetic  Revealer.  Under  responsi- 
bility for  all  truth  ;  hence,  careful. 

3.  The  kingly  Leader.  Under  victorious  ban- 
ners ;  hence,  jubilant. 

III.  The  King  of  the  Kingdom. 

Only  a  single  word  of  serene  self-announcement, 
as  he  starts  in  person  to  return  through  the  lifted 
gates  into  the  glory  he  had  before  ever  the  world 
was. 

An  entire  sermon  would  be  needed  on  each  of 
these  seven  texts,  before  even  a  moiety  of  their 
reach  and  fulness  of  instruction  could  be  presented 
to  you.  Two  lessons  are  all  we  now  seek  to  make 
clear.  One  of  these  concerns  the  savers  of  souls  ; 
the  other  concerns  the  souls  that  are  saved. 

Rehearse,  now  that  you  are  measurably  familiar 
with  it,  this  journey  of  Jesus'  mind,  once  more  ; 
for  it  is  the  line  of  spiritual  travel  along  which  every 


78  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


Going  after  a  lost  soul.  Homeward  steps. 


true  follower  of  Jesus  must  go  in  order  to  bring  men 
savingly  to  him  atid  to  heaven. 

He  begins  at  a  distance.  Far  away  on  the 
borders  of  Satan's  country,  Christ  seems  to  descry 
a  few  men.  passionate,  uncouth,  and  blasphemous. 
His  heart  yearns  over  them.  Those  whom  no 
one  loves,  he  pities.  Those  whom  no  one  warns, 
he  prays  for.  Oh,  the  inhnite  tenderness  with 
which  Immanuel  then  reached  out  his  hand  to 
save  them  who  were  ahnost  doomed  and  damned 
already  I  Where,  then,  is  the  man  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  charity  or  our  prayers  ! 

Then  he  draws  a  step  nearer,  and  meets  the 
pleading  malefactor  on  the  way  From  the  very 
edge  of  the  bottomless  pit  did  Christ  catch  that 
perishing  penitent,  and  draw  him  safely  into 
Paradise.  And  this,  when  at  the  moment  every 
fibre  in  his  body,  and  every  sensibility  in  his  soul, 
was  racked  with  pain  indescribable.  Oh,  how 
frequently  our  ease  interferes  with  our  useful- 
ness ;  how  often  we  check  our  footsteps  going 
forth  "  bearing  precious  seed,"  because  we  think 
we  must  stay  to  do  our  "  weeping"  ! 

One  more  step  is  now  all  that  Jesus  needs  to 
take.  He  is  never  so  busy  in  zeal  for  reprobates 
as  to  forget  fidelity  to  his  friends.  When  we 
notice  his  solicitude  for  his  mother's  earthly  lot, 
and  the  graceful  ingenuity  with  which  he  com- 
passed the  two  ends  of  providing  for  her  and 
comforting  John,  we  cannot  fail  to  learn  how 
helpful  he  means  to  have  all  that  love  him  to  be 


THE   SERMON   ON   THE   CROSS.  79 

A  lost  soul  going  towards  God.  Sin  hated,  not  sinners. 

to  each  other.  "  Whoso  shall  do  the  will  of  my 
Leather  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my 
mother,  and  sister,  and  brother."  Thus  having 
loved  his  own  he  loved  them  to  the  end.  And 
our  lesson  is — begin,  no  matter  how  far  off  ;  per- 
sist, no  matter  how  much  ;  continue,  no  matter 
how  long  ;  so  that  in  the  end  we  compass  a  soul  ! 

The  other  hint  of  instruction  we  gain  from 
these  utterances  on  the  Cross  has  relation  to  the 
evangelical  experience  through  zvhich  every  soul  has  to 
pass  in  its  return  and  reconciliation  to  God.  This 
very  journey  of  Jesus'  mind  indicates  it — that  is, 
the  experience  our  Lord  himself  shares  as  he  ut- 
ters those  three  personal  exclamations,  which  cul- 
minate in  the  calm  triumph  of  the  last. 

When  Jesus  lifts  that  great  and  bitter  cry — 
"  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?"— he  seems  about  as  far  from  his  Father's 
love  as  human  mind  can  conceive.  He  knows 
himself  to  be  the  true,  only-begotten  Son  of  God, 
but  he  is  apparently  on  the  very  outermost  line  of 
recognition.  He  is  bearing  the  sins  of  the  world, 
and  his  Father  has  hidden  his  face  in  sorrow  and 
reprehension.  Just  there  starts  every  unforgiven 
soul  of  man. 

Oh,  if  God  hates  sin  like  this— if  he  would  turn 
away  from  that  suffering  Redeemer  in  such  an 
hour  as  this — if  he  refuses  to  look  upon  guilt  in  a 
mere  Surety  with  such  rejection — what  can  any 
actual  sinner  have  to-day  for  a  hopeful  apology, 
when,    covered    with    his   own  transgression,    he 


8o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Caring  for  those  one  seeks.  Rest  reached  at  last. 

goes  up  abov^e  to  make  terms  for  himself  with  the 
Judge  ! 

But  Jesus  advanced  one  step,  after  a  while. 
Though  forsaken,  he  kept  the  faith.  Lest  a 
single  word  of  prophecy  should  fail,  he  bent  to 
the  humiliating  need  of  asking  his  enemies  to  pity 
his  admitted  weakness.  He  did  all  this  to  save 
two  or  three  verses  in  two  or  three  Psalms.  So 
he  honored  the  word,  and  confirmed  its  least 
record. 

Here,  again,  let  each  sinner  learn  that  God  will 
be  true,  though  every  man  become  a  liar.  To 
even  the  most  despairing  there  is  promise,  there 
is  proffer,  there  is  pledge,  of  grace,  on  condition 
of  penitence  and  faith. 

Then  Jesus  comes  up  the  third  step,  and  all  is 
clear.  The  marvelous  reach  of  those  little  words 
— "  It  is  finished  !" — can  never  be  told.  Types 
all  answered,  predictions  all  fulfilled,  provisions 
all  made,  he  is  on  the  summit  of  triumph. 

And  with  those  words  on  his  believing  lips, 
every  sinner  comes  to  his  eternal  rest  and  peace 
in  the  gospel.  The  word  of  Jehovah  meets  him  : 
"  Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  So  he,  like  his  Lord,  commends  his  spirit 
into  infinite  care.  From  the  verge  of  the  outer 
darkness,  where  the  wandering  stars  are  lost,  he 
has  at  last  pushed  his  way,  througli  all  the  inter- 
vening orbits,  to  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  which 
has  risen  upon  him  ! 


VII. 
A   BEATITUDE   REALIZED. 

"  And  when  they  heard  that,  they  lifted  up  their  voice 
TO  God  with  one  accord." — Acfs  4  :  24. 

The  peculiar  paradoxes  of  the  Christian  life  are 
nowhere  brought  to  view  more  evidently  than  in 
those  dogmatic  declarations  of  our  Lord  himself 
with  which  he  opens  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
Each  one  of  the  beatitudes  there  pronounced  sug- 
gests a  philosophy  which  is  in  utter  defiance  of  all 
legitimate  human  expectation  and  experience. 
The  world  says,  "  Happy  are  the  opulent  and  the 
prosperous  ;"  Jesus  says,  "  Happy  are  the  poor." 

The  world  says,  "  Happy  are  ye  when  ye  are 
merry  and  glad  ;"  Jesus  sa3^s,  "  Happ}'^  are  they 
that  mourn." 

Thus  the  list  moves  on,  a  strange  enumeration 
of  apparent  contradictions.  Seven  classifications 
of  positive  evils  are  made,  and  then  the  octave  is 
touched  with  a  note  the  most  wonderful  of  them 
all  ;  it  is  surely  the  most  surprising  and  pre- 
posterous of  all  things  to  say  in  a  promiscuous 
assembly,  "  Blessed  are  they  which  are  perse- 
cuted for  righteousness'  sake  :  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  Yet  this  statement  is  re- 
peated twice  in  succession,  and  then  an  applica- 


82  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Singing  under  persecution.  Reach  of  the  beatitude. 


tion  of  it  is  forced  directly  on  those  who  are 
Hstening,  as  if  to  confirm  a  principle  so  likely  to 
provoke  a  dispute. 

Now,  it  so  happens  that,  in  the  chapter  where 
the  text  is  found,  we  have  come  upon  a  literal 
fulfilment  of  this  prediction  of  Christ  ;  the  disci- 
ples are  in  the  midst  of  severe  persecution,  and 
yet  we  not  only  find  them  singing  in  the  exuber- 
ance of  their  joy,  but  the  new  song  they  sing  is 
handed  down  to  us  as  a  fine  contribution  to  the 
hymnological  treasures  of  the  church  at  large. 
Evidently  these  brave  men  are  realizing  a  beati- 
tude, and  the  excellent  illustration  they  furnish 
ought  not  to  be  lost.  Let  us  analyse  the  verses 
in  Matthew,  and  then  lay  them  alongside  of  those 
in  the  Acts  ;  so  we  shall  easily  perceive  the  prac- 
tical help  given. 

I.  What  was  it  exactly  that  our  Lord  declared 
in  the  beatitude  ?  We  m.ust  be  just  as  careful  in 
tracing  its  limits  as  its  reach,  or  else  we  shall 
make  a  sad  mistake  at  the  start. 

I.  Its  reach  includes  hard  words,  harsh  deeds, 
and  hateful  insinuations  :  "  Blessed  are  ye,  when 
men  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  you,  and  shall 
say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my 
sake."  Taunts,  sarcasms,  ridicule — these  are 
more  difficult  to  bear  than  blows  ;  and  these  are 
what  the  apostles  were  now  receiving  in  full 
measure. 

The  word  which  our  Lord  used  is  figurative  ; 
he  takes  his  trope  from  the  pursuit  of  a  hunter  : 


A   BEATITUDE   REALIZED.  83 

Hounded  by  a  hunter.  A  prairie  reed. 

Blessed  are  ye  when  wicked  men  shall  "  hound  " 
you.  Most  men  of  refined  feeling  are  little  moved 
by  mere  coarseness.  It  touches  no  sensibility 
when  some  rude  creature  swears  at  us  in  the 
street ;  the  barking  of  a  dog  would  annoy  us  very 
much  the  same.  The  very  grossness  of  the  attack 
renders  it  comparatively  ineffective  ;  we  pass  it 
by  undisturbed.  I  think  we  can  understand  some- 
thing of  the  equanimity  of  David  under  the  curses 
of  the  foul-mouthed  Shimei.  "  And  as  David  and 
his  men  Avent  by  the  way,  Shimei  went  along  on 
the  hill's  side  over  against  him,  and  cursed  as  he 
went,  and  threw  stones  at  him,  and  cast  dust. 
And  David  said  to  Abishai,  Let  him  alone,  and  let 
him  curse  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  bidden  him.  It 
may  be  that  the  Lord  will  look  on  mine  affliction, 
and  that  the  Lord  will  requite  me  good  for  his 
cursing  this  day." 

A  delicate-minded  Christian  will,  like  a  prairie 
reed,  bend  to  a  swift  blast  of  the  tempest,  and  in 
his  graceful  yielding  find  safety  ;  only  the  lighter 
winds  can  make  him  tremble.  The  day  has  come 
when  our  persecutions  consist  pretty  much  of  in- 
sinuations, misrepresentations,  and  perversions. 
A  shrug  of  the  shoulder,  a  whisper  of  defamation, 
a  look  of  suspicion,  may  fling  reproach  on  the 
most  spotless  reputation. 

2.  The  limit  of  Jesus'  language  in  the  beatitude 
is  found  in  two  particulars  :  the  reproach  must  be 
groundless — note  that  word  "  falsely  ;"  and  it  must 
be  religious — "  for  my  sake."     That  these  disciples 


84  SERMONS  IN  SONGS. 

Buffeted  for  real  faults.  Deacon  Morose, 

understood  perfectly  the  distinction  is  plain  from 
what  one  of  them,  Simon  Peter,  wrote  long  after- 
ward ;  he  says  it  does  not  amount  to  much  if  one 
is  buffeted  for  his  real  faults,  and  deserves  the 
censures  he  gets  ;  it  is  only  when  one  does  well 
and  suffers  for  it,  that  the  pain  becomes  "  thank- 
worthy" and  "  acceptable  to  God." 

Furthermore,  the  persecution  must  be  for 
Christ's  sake  only,  if  we  expect  it  to  count  in  real- 
izing the  beatitude.  Once  in  a  class  a  somewhat 
pert  lad  exclaimed,  "  I  think  a  peevish  or  quick- 
tempered man  like  Deacon  INIorose  will  make 
heaven  very  uncomfortable  for  the  people  in  that 
part  of  it  he  goes  to."  The  teacher  rebuked  him  : 
*'  Some  persons  are  hard  on  Deacon  Morose  ;  he 
is  a  dear,  good,  pious  man."  The  boy  continued  : 
"  He  is  not  to  blame  for  being  pious,  but  for  not 
being  pious  enough  ;  I  never  thought  he  was  so 
unpopular  for  Christ's  sake,  but  for  his  own.  If 
he  were  a  little  more  amiable,  he  would  be  a 
good  deal  more  religious."  Such  a  thing  is 
worth  thinking  of  any  way.  For  in  another  verse 
this  same  apostle  takes  occasion  to  make  a  frank 
enumeration  of  particulars  which  might  be  easily 
mistaken  for  unusual  grace.  In  his  day  there 
were  some  who  suffered  as  evil-doers— thieves, 
gossips,  meddlers,  and  the  like  ;  it  was  enough  to 
tell  them  that  this  was  useless.  "  But  let  none  of 
you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  as  a  thief,  or  as  an 
evil-doer,  or  as  a  busybody  in  other  men's  mat- 
ters.    Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him 


A   BEATITUDE   REALIZED.  85 

Reliant  pride  of  heart.  "  Draw  me  nearer — nearer." 

not  be  ashamed  ;  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this 
behalf." 

II.  But  now  we  move  on  a  step  in  the  study. 
This  being  the  condition,  what  was  the  beatitude  ? 
How  were  the  apostles  blessed  in  their  persecu- 
tions ? 

1.  Reproach  for  Christ's  sake  cuts  off  one's  reli- 
ant pride  of  heart.  "  Then  Peter,  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  said  unto  them,  Ye  rulers  of  the 
people,  and  elders  of  Israel,  if  we  this  day  be  ex- 
amined of  the  good  deed  done  to  the  impotent 
man,  by  what  means  he  is  made  whole  ;  be  it 
known  unto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people  of 
Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Naza- 
reth, whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised  from 
the  dead,  even  by  him  doth  this  man  stand  here 
before  you  whole.  This  is  the  stone  which  was 
set-at  naught  of  you  builders,  which  is  become  the 
head  of  the  corner." 

Observe  carefully  how  these  men  appear  to 
forget  themselves  in  the  transactions  which  were 
causing  such  wonder.  If  a  man  does  a  great  good 
thing  he  is  apt  at  first  to  become  vain  of  it  ;  but  it 
needs  only  the  briefest  experience  of  success  to 
discover  that  great  good  things  are  what  the 
world  hates  and  maligns  the  most.  This  takes 
the  conceit  out  of  his  heart,  and  then  he  begins  to 
render  all  the  glory  unto  God. 

2.  Again  :  reproach  for  Christ's  sake  drives  us 
nearer  into  close  communion  with  the  Almighty 
himself.     "  And   being  let  go,  they  came  to  their 


86  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


The  Apostles'  song.  David  at  Engedi. 

own  company,  and  reported  all  that  the  chief 
priests  and  the  elders  had  said  unto  them.  And 
they,  when  they  heard  it,  lifted  up  their  voice  to 
God  with  one  accord,  and  said,  O  Lord,  thou  that 
didst  make  the  heaven  and  the  earth  and  the  sea, 
and  all  that  in  them  is  ;  who  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  the  mouth  of  our  father  David  thy  servant 
didst  say,  Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the 
people  imagine  vain  things  ?  The  kings  of  the 
earth  stood  up,  and  the  rulers  were  gathered 
together  against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ. 
For  of  a  truth  in  this  city  against  thy  holy  Ser- 
vant Jesus,  whom  thou  didst  anoint,  both  Herod 
and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles  and  the 
peoples  of  Israel,  were  gathered  together,  to  do 
whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  foreordained 
to  come  to  pass.  And  now,  Lord,  look  upon 
their  threatenings  ;  and  grant  unto  thy  servants 
to  speak  thy  word  with  all  boldness,  while  thou 
stretchest  forth  thy  hand  to  heal  ;  and  that  signs 
and  wonders  may  be  done  through  the  name  of 
thy  holy  Servant  Jesus." 

It  is  not  difficult  to  dare  men  when  one  fully 
trusts  God  ;  magnanimity  toward  a  foe  is  easy 
when  one  has  a  friend  in  his  God  to  whom  he 
may  appeal.  We  conceive  nobly  of  David  when 
in  the  secret  cave  of  Engedi  he  turns  away  from 
doing  violence  unto  Saul,  and  leaves  him  to  the 
dealings  of  Providence.  "  The  Lord  judge  be- 
tween me  and  thee,  and  the  Lord  avenge  me  of 
thee;    but  mine  hand  shall  not  be   upon  thee." 


A   BEATITUDE   REALIZED.  8/ 

The  speech  of  men.  High-born  Kinsmen. 

Christ  once  told  his  disciples  that  there  was  a  woe 
upon  them  if  all  men  should  speak  well  of  them  ; 
they  understood  him  better  in  these  hard  times 
when  they  felt  his  love  so  near  ;  he  was  manifest- 
ing- himself  to  them  as  not  to  the  world.  Remem- 
ber that  one  of  those  men  who  were  singing  after- 
ward wrote  the  brave  wise  words  we  so  often 
quote  :  "  For  the  time  is  come  that  judgment 
must  begin  at  the  house  of  God  ;  and  if  it  first 
begin  at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that 
obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  And  if  the  right- 
eous scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly 
and  the  sinner  appear  ?  Wherefore,  let  them  that 
suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God,  commit  the 
keeping  of  their  souls  to  him  in  well-doing,  as 
unto  a  faithful  Creator." 

3.  Reproach  for  Christ's  sake  likewise  is  a 
blessing  because  it  brings  one  into  genuine  com- 
panionship with  the  great  and  g-ood  of  all  the 
ages.  How  suggestive  it  is  to  find  these  disciples 
of  the  Lord  quoting  an  ancient  psalm  as  a  part  of 
the  New  Testament  hymn  they  were  composing 
to  sing  now.  This  v/as  precisely  what  had  been 
told  them  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  :  "  Re- 
joice, and  be  exceeding  glad  ;  for  great  is  your 
reward  in  heaven  ;  for  so  persecuted  they  the 
prophets  which  were  before  you."  In  da)'s  gone 
by,  so  we  are  informed,  martyrs  and  confessors 
used  to  etch  on  the  walls  of  the  dungeons  they 
occupied  brief  exhortations  to  steadfastness,  calls 
to  fortitude,  and  reminiscences  of  grace,  so  that 


88  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Fellowship  with  the  Master.  Simon  Peter's  counsel. 


those  who  should  come  after  them  in  the  same 
prisons  might  have  the  cheer  of  the  example  they 
set  ;   "  seeing,  would  take  heart  again." 

4.  Finally  :  reproach  for  Christ's  sake  intro- 
duces every  true  Christian  into  fellowship  with 
the  great  Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profes- 
sion, Jesus  him.self.  "It  is  enough  for  the  disci- 
ple that  he  be  as  his  master,  and  the  servant  as  his 
lord."  We  look  up  and  seem  to  see  these  preach- 
ers before  the  same  great  council  that  condemned 
Jesus  ;  think  specially  of  John  and  Peter  ;  when 
were  they  there  last  ?  There  were  the  identical 
faces,  scowling  and  hateful  as  ever.  "  And  Annas 
the  high  priest,  and  Caiaphas,  and  John,  and 
Alexander,  and  as  many  as  were  of  the  kindred  of 
the  high  priest,  were  gathered  together  at  Jerusa- 
lem." In  that  room  Jesus  had  sat  when  he  gave 
Simon  Peter  the  look  which  filled  his  eyes  with 
penitent  tears  ;  do  you  suppose  Peter  was  going 
to  give  in  now,  and  deny  the  Master  again  ?  Or 
rather,  we  imagine  a  man  like  him  would  take  a 
grand  delight  in  showing  in  these  days  that  he 
could  be  .courageous  if  he  tried.  You  must  turn 
over  once  more  to  Simon  Peter's  epistle,  and  see 
how  tenderly  this  disciple,  a  sheep  going  astray 
once,  now  has  returned  unto  the  Shepherd  of  his 
soul,  and  how  humbly  under  such  memories  he 
exhorts  the  rest. 

"  For  even  hereunto  were  ye  called  ;  because 
Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example, 
that  ye  should  follow  his  steps.     Who  did  no  sin, 


A   BEATITUDE   REALIZED.  89 

Surprise  at  trial.  A  peaceful  life  :  no  beatitude. 

neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  ;  who,  when 
he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again  ;  when  he  suf- 
fered, he  threatened  not  ;  but  committed  himself 
to  him  that  judgeth  righteously  ;  who  his  own 
self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
that  we,  being  dead  to  sins,  should  live  unto  right- 
eousness :  by  whose  stripes  ye  were  healed.  For 
ye  were  as  sheep  going  astray  ;  but  are  now  re- 
turned unto  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  your 
souls." 

We  ought  not  to  be  surprised  at  this  kind  of 
trial  even  in  these  easier  days.  "  All  that  will 
live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution." 
But  the  beatitude  holds.  This  is  part  of  the  cost 
one  must  count  when  he  first  purposes  to  surren- 
der himself  to  the  Saviour  ;  is  the  price  sufficient  ? 

"And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was 
shaken  wherein  they  were  gathered  together ; 
and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
they  spake  the  word  of  God  with  boldness." 

A  peaceful  life  may  not  always  be  the  most  de- 
sirable. It  amounts  simply  to  the  reckoning  thus  : 
less  persecution,  and  so  less  beatitude.  One  may 
live  far  from  conflict,  and  then  discover  he  has  been 
also  living  far  from  Christ.  "  And  they  departed 
from  the  presence  of  the  council,  rejoicing  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  his 
name  ;  and  daily  in  the  temple,  and  in  every  house, 
they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ." 


VIII. 
THE    "GLORIA   IN    EXCELSIS." 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good 
WILL  toward  men." — Liike  2  :  14. 

Those  who  are  so  apt  at  saying  bright  things 
about  the  Madonna  and  her  Child — and  those  who 
are  so  foolish  as  to  talk  concerning  the  Church 
and  her  Christ — might,  if  they  would,  take  notice 
that,  when  the  Scriptures  speak,  they  always 
mention  the  Child  first. 

One  can  easily  imagine  that  the  shepherds, 
when  they  entered  the  presence  of  "  the  young 
Child  and  his  Mother,"  were  satisfied  to  know 
they  had  something  to  tell,  as  well  as  something 
to  listen  to.  And  our  curiosity  almost  runs  riot, 
as  we  think  of  the  conversation  there  at  the  side 
of  the  manger.  How  the  quiet  Mary's  eyes  would 
glisten,  when  she  heard  about  the  song  of  angels 
on  the  hill  ! 

Indeed,  Joseph  and  Mary  might  well  welcome 
these  homely  men  ;  for  there  was  in  their  plain 
words  of  congratulation  that  which  rejoiced  their 
souls  far  more  than  those  gifts  of  gold,  frankin- 
cense, and  myrrh,  which  the  Magi  brought  them 
afterward.  Good  words  are  always  more  valuable 
than  wealthy  offerings,  which   have  less  heart  in 


THE   "  GLORIA   IN    EXCELSIS.  9I 

Sheplierds'  words  :  Magi's  gifts.  Was  Gabriel  the  leader  ? 

them  ;  they  are  like  "  apples  of  gold  in  pictures 
of  silver." 

In  gathering  the  matter  for  our  own  instruction 
just  now,  we  ought  to  be  satisfied  if  we  can  be  led 
to  remember  this  same  song,  and  hold  the  rich 
significance  of  its  three  announcements  of  glory  to 
God,  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  toward  men. 
First,  however,  we  will  make  some  inquiry  about 
this  celestial  choir  ;  then  we  will  take  up  for 
study  the  wonderful  anthem  which  they  sang  : 
"  And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multi- 
tude of  the  heavenly  host  praising  God,  and  say- 
ing. Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  men." 

I,  One  particular  angel,  you  observe,  seems  to 
assume  a  sort  of  leadership  to  a  company  of 
others  ;  he  delivers  the  message,  and  then  they 
unannounced  burst  forth  into  a  strain  of  music. 
Curious  questioning  all  aside,  the  thought  of  sur- 
passing interest  to  us  in  this  story  is  concerning 
the  sincere  sympathy  that  these  celestial  beings 
all  seem  to  have  for  every  matter  which  touches 
our  race  under  the  plan  of  redemption.  Angels 
appear  in  every  instance. 

Gabriel  it  was  who  brought  prophetic  announce- 
ment of  the  Messiah  to  Daniel  ;  the  same  messen- 
ger foretold  Jesus'  birth  to  his  mother.  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  our  Lord's  earthly 
career  do  these  inhabitants  of  heaven  seem  to 
Avalk  alongside,  just  out  of  sight.  We  discover 
them  ministering:  to  him  when  in  the  wilderness  of 


92  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  ministry  of  angels  Why  do  angels  care? 

temptation  ;  they  are  found  strengthening  him 
under  the  terrible  agony  of  Gethsemane  ;  the 
women  saw  one  sitting  at  the  head  and  the  foot  of 
the  spot  where  the  crucified  Saviour  had  lain  in 
the  sepulchre.  We  are  given  to  understand  that 
angels  are  even  now  all  the  time  God's  messengers 
to  the  heirs  of  salvation.  They  are  coming,  at  the 
last  day,  with  Christ  when  he  advances  to  judg- 
ment. And  in  the  glory  of  heaven,  while  they  sit 
singing  praise  on  the  mount  of  God,  the  chief 
burden  of  their  happ}^  hymns  is  joy  over  each 
repenting  sinner.  Is  it  not  a  fine  thing  to  have 
such  friends  at  court  ? 

Just  here  it  is  worth  an  inquiry,  how  it  comes 
about  that  angels  from  a  sinless  heaven  are  inter- 
ested enough  in  the  birth  of  a  human  Redeemer 
to  show  such  lively  and  exuberant  pleasure  as 
makes  these  Bethlehem  hills  ring  with  their  praise 
unto  God.  And  the  answer  cannot  be  difficult. 
You  must  recall  the  description  furnished  us  of 
angels*  feelings,  under  the  awful  mystery  of 
Christ's  sufferings.  They  are  presented  to  us  as 
fitly  imaged  in  the  Cherubim  on  the  mercy-seat  of 
old  ;  those  two  singular  figures  of  gold,  bending 
reverently  forward  toward  each  other  over  the 
ark  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  with  eyes  cast  down- 
ward, as  if  they  were  curiously  listening  to  what- 
ever might  be  spoken  from  out  the  ineffable  light 
between  them.  In  like  attitude,  we  are  told  to 
conceive  of  those  angels  who  stand  in  the  real 
presence  of  God,  where  are  solved  such  wonder- 


THE   "GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS."  93 

"  Peering  over  into."  When  did  the  angels  learn  ? 

ful  problems  of  grace — grace  purchased  by  the 
vicarious  humiliation  of  the  divine  Daysman,  his 
equal  and  beloved  Son. 

You  easily  quote  the  language  ;  but  there  is  in 
it  a  felicity  almost  lost  in  its  rendering  into  ours. 
"  Which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into  ;" 
this  means,  which  things  they  are  peering  over 
into — bending  their  heads  down  and  fixing  their 
eyes,  as  if  a  holy  curiosity  possessed  them,  as  if 
they  were  investigating  an  awful  secret  which 
demanded  closest  and  most  earnest  attention. 

Furthermore,  you  will  remember  that  the 
Apostle  Paul  asserts,  in  a  brilliant  passage  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  that  there  was  once  a 
recognized  and  explicit  moment  in  eternal  history, 
when  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  was  made 
known  unto  the  powers  and  principalities  in 
heavenly  places — the  fellowship  of  the  mystery, 
hid  in  God  from  the  beginning  of  the  world. 
When  was  that  ?  At  what  precise  instant — at 
what  period  along  the  ages  of  human  registering 
by  days  and  years — did  the  angels  first  learn  the 
meaning  and  the  majesty  of  Christ's  incarnation, 
his  suffering,  and  his  death  ? 

We  can  get  no  plain  inspired  answer  ;  but 
surely,  there  never  was  a  more  fitting  opportunity 
for  this  sublime  disclosure  than  we  know  was 
offered  on  the  day  when  the  incarnation  became  a 
fact  ;  on  the  morning  of  Jesus'  birth,  of  course, 
was  the  appropriate  moment  to  explain  why  he 
was  born  at  all.     It  does  not  seem  unlikely  that 


94  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

See  Melvill's  Sermon  ;  Vol.  II.  Perhaps  angels  learned  then. 

when  the  midnight  first  fell  away  from  over  Beth- 
lehem and  its  shepherds  on  the  hills — at  just  that 
crisis  in  history,  human  and  angelic — the  heavenly 
host  were  earliest  made  aware  of  the  deep  signifi- 
cance of  the  amazing  transaction  they  witnessed. 
It  may  be  imagined  without  harm,  as  has  been 
suggested  by  one  of  the  most  eloquent  of  English 
preachers,  that  Jesus'  errand  on  earth  was  then 
explained  to  angels  by  just  these  very  words  we 
are  reading,  spoken  by  their  leader,  this  chief 
angel,  to  those  astonished  men  on  the  hill. 

And  if  it  be  true  that  these  high  inteUigences, 
who  had  until  this  supreme  moment  never  before 
understood  what  it  was  for  an  unpardoned  sinner 
against  God  to  have  an  atonement ;  who  had 
gazed  upon  the  wreck  of  a  fair  world  without  any 
hope  of  its  restoration  ;  who  had  witnessed  the 
action  of  inflexible  justice,  as  it  actually  sent  hell 
into  existence  for  the  doleful  abode  of  some  of 
their  own  race,  even  then  chained  in  its  horrible 
pit  with  no  provisions  for  release  ;  if,  I  say,  these 
angels  now  met  one  historic  instant  of  disclosure, 
in  which  the  veil  of  eternity  dropped  away  from 
before  its  chief  mystery,  and  so  was  revealed  to 
their  hitherto  baffled  minds  the  secret  on  which 
they  had  for  ages  so  hopelessly  pondered — if  this 
be  true,  then  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  the 
moment  of  such  vast  discovery,  such  unparalleled 
and  immense  acquisitions  of  knowledge,  should 
give  birth  to  a  song  transcending  every  strain 
they  had  ever  previously  chanted,  filling  the  earth 


THE   "GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS.  95 

What  of  the  music  also  ?  Greek  hymn  :  300  a.d. 

and  the  heavens  alike  with  melody  ;  and  this 
would  certainly  give  us  a  new  force,  if  not  a  new 
meaning,  to  the  old  verse  that  to  so  many  readers 
seems  such  a  puzzle  :  "  When  he  bringeth  in  the 
first-begotten  into  the  world,  he  saith.  Let  all  the 
angels  of  God  worship  him." 

II.  This  leads  us  on  now  fitly  to  speak,  in  the 
second  place,  concerning  the  music  heard  on  that 
eventful  night.  In  the  account  which  the  listeners 
gave,  the  words  alone  are  mentioned  ;  one  might 
be  pardoned  for  wishing  we  had  also  the  score  ! 

We  all  know  how  an  interesting  strain  of 
melody  will  fix  itself  in  our  memories  ;  sometimes 
we  can  hardly  keep  from  humming  it  over,  repeat- 
ing snatches  of  it  we  have  caught,  and  rehearsing 
to  others  the  way  it  went,  so  as  to  give  an  idea. 
It  may  be  that  the  shepherds  remembered  parts 
of  this  ;  but  if  so,  we  have  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing it.  Only  the  words  reach  us  ;  but  they  are 
well  worth  the  study  of  the  world. 

From  a  single  form  of  expression  employed 
here,  and  coming  along  the  ages  through  the 
Latin  Vulgate  version,  has  been  named  an  unin- 
spired chant,  one  of  the  noblest  in  history — the 
Gloria  in  Excelsis,  given  us  by  the  Greek  Church 
somewhere  about  300  a.d. 

The  startling  abruptness  with  which  this  se- 
raphic anthem  fell  on  the  ears  of  the  shepherds 
that  first  Christmas  night,  adds  greatly  to  the 
dramatic  effect  of  the  scene.  Hardly  lingering 
for  their  leader  to  end  his  communication,  that 


96  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  shout  of  the  Greeks.  'I'hree  stanzas  to  the  hymn. 

choir  of  singers  "  suddenly"  burst  forth  with  loud 
volume  of  exquisite  harmony,  celebrating  the 
praises  of  Jehovah,  whom  they  saw  in  a  fresh  field 
of  splendid  display.  There  were  a  vast  number 
of  singers — "  a  host  ;"  that  is  to  say,  an  army  ; 
"an  army  celebrating  a  peace."  Surely  there 
was  enough  to  inspire  their  music  ;  and  great 
armies  of  voices  sing  together  quite  often  with 
immense  power  of  rich  and  voluminous  harmon3^ 
It  was  an  exasfpcration,  no  doubt,  but  ancient  his- 
tory  gravely  records  that,  when  the  invader  of 
Macedon  was  finally  expelled,  the  victorious 
Greeks,  who  heard  the  news  and  so  learned  that 
freedom  had  come  and  fighting  was  over  and 
home  was  near,  raised  along  the  lines  and  through- 
out the  camp  such  a  shout  of  "  Soter  !  Soter  !" — 
a  Saviour  !  a  Saviour  ! — that  birds  on  the  wing 
dropped  down.  It  may  have  been  so  ;  but  what 
was  that  little  peninsula  of  Greece,  as  compared 
with  this  entire  race  redeemed  from  Satan  unto 
God? 

What  were  the  actual  words  of  this  angels' 
song  ?  It  is  well  that  we  all  recollect  them — 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  men  !"  Three  stanzas  in 
one  hymn. 

I.  The  first  of  them,  and  the  foremost  in 
thought,  is  ''Glory  to  God  in  the  highest."  This  is 
not  a  prayer  at  all,  but  an  ascription.  It  was  no 
time  to  be  asking  that  God  be  glorified,  when  the 
whole  universe  was  quivering  with  new  disclosure 


THE   "  GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS.  97 

Not  a  prayer  only.  An  ascription  also. 

of  a  Gloria  in  Excelsis  such  as  blind  men  could 
see  and  deaf  men  could  hear.  Those  angels  did 
not  pray — Glory  be  to  God — but  they  exclaimed 
— Glory  is  to  God  in  the  highest,  in  the  highest  ! 
And  then  they  rush  rapidly  into  an  enumeration 
of  particulars.  The  connection  of  thought  is 
close.  Glory  is  to  God  in  the  highest,  because 
peace  has  come  on  the  earth,  and  good  will  has 
already  gone  out  toward  men. 

These  angels  are  making  proclamation  that 
the  rebellious  race  is  forevermore  subdued.  No 
longer  was  this  planet  to  circle  around  among 
loyal  worlds  in  space,  flaunting  the  defiant  flag  of 
a  belligerent  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Men 
should  be  redeemed  ;  sin  should  be  positively 
checked  ;  all  the  ills  of  a  worn-out  and  wretched 
existence  should  be  banished  ;  poverty  should  be 
removed,  sickness  and  death  find  a  master  ;  Satan 
should  be  foiled  by  Immanuel  in  person  :  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good-will 
toward  men  !" 

Hence,  this  entire  vision,  which  flashed  on  the 
awakened  intelligence  of  the  angels  and  inspired 
their  song,  was  simply  reversive  and  revolution- 
ary. The  whole  earth  seemed  to  rouse  itself  to  a 
new  being.  Cursed  for  human  sin,  it  saw  its  de- 
liverance coming.  The  day  had  arrived  when 
streams  and  lakes  should  gleam  in  the  sunshine, 
when  the  valleys  should  smile,  and  laugh,  and 
sing,  when  flowers  should  bloom  and  stars  should 
flash — all  to  the  glory  of  God  ! 


98  SERMONS   IN  SONGS. 

The  gates  of  Janus'  temple.  Peace  in  a  small  way. 

2.  Then  ''peace  on  earth;"  God  was  at  last  in 
the  world  reconciling  it  unto  himself  ;  the  hearts 
of  his  creatures  were  coming  back  to  him  ;  their 
allegiance  was  to  be  restored,  their  wills  were  to 
be  subjugated,  their  minds  were  to  be  enlight- 
ened ;  thus  peace  over  all  the  world  would  be 
established,  God's  wrath  would  be  averted,  and 
the  Ions:  wrestle  of  man  with  Satan  would  reach 
its  end. 

For  when  men  are  really  at  peace  with  God, 
they  will  come  to  peace  with  each  other.  Most 
significant  fact  is  it  to  remember  in  all  our  studies 
of  this  period  of  Christ's  coming,  that  on  the  very 
night  when  Jesus  was  born  as  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
the  whole  political  world  was  at  rest.  The  Em- 
peror Augustus  had  just  shut  the  gates  of  the 
temple  of  Janus  for  only  the  third  time  in  seven 
hundred  years.  Hopes  were  higher  then  than 
ever  before  in  the  memory  of  man.  The  race 
might  indeed  have  been  finally  composed,  but  for 
outbreaking  sin.  These  angels  had  hardly  an 
hour  of  quiet  to  sing  in,  before  the  new  clash  of 
arms  resounded.  Alas  !  how  long  the  desired  day 
seems  to  be  in  coming,  when  swords  shall  be 
ploughshares,  and  warriors'  spears  shall  be  forged 
into  pruning-hooks  ! 

But  surely  it  is  easy  to  have  peace  in  a  small 
way  all  around  ourselves.  The  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness shall  be  peace.  What  a  fitting  day — a  blessed 
day — is  this,  the  anniversary  of  a  Saviour's  birth, 
for   the  composure  of   all   private   and    personal 


THE   "  GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS.  99 

"  Knitting  severed  friendships  up."  Herdsmen  visit  a  carpenter. 

wars  !  What  a  day  for  forgiving  and  forgetting 
old  grudges  ;  for  "  knitting  severed  friendships 
up  ;"  for  explaining  and  apologizing  ;  for  sooth- 
ing and  assuaging  ;  for  restoring  weary  estrange- 
ments !  What  a  blessed  day  indeed  for  anything 
which  will  bring  sundered  hearts  together,  as 
they  once  were  !  "  O  Lord,  grant  us  peace  in 
our  time  !" 

3.  And  so,  at  last,  "good  will  toivard  men.'* 
That  ends  this  song  of  the  angel  ;  that  is  what 
ought  to  be  the  beginning  of  each  Christmas 
anthem  and  carol.  God  loves  us  ;  oh,  how  touch- 
ingly  does  the  aged  Paul  in  one  place  tell  his 
young  brother  Titus  about  that  "  kindness  and 
love  of  God  our  Saviour  toward  men  !"  God 
cherishes  only  good  will  toward  any  of  us.  Even 
the  wicked  ;  he  takes  no  pleasure  in  their  death. 
He  would  rather  they  would  turn  unto  him  and 
live.  Oh,  happy  day  is  that  in  which  he  tells  us 
all  this  unmistakably,  with  perfect  plainness  ! 
Brethren,  if  God  so  loved  us,  then  ought  we  also 
to  love  one  another.  Let  the  wolf  dwell  to-day 
with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  lie  down  with  the 
kid  ;  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling 
together  ;  for  a  little  Child  on  his  birthday  has 
come  forth  from  heaven  to  lead  them  ! 

'  And  all  ye  are  brethren  !"  Away  with  all 
fancied  superiorities  and  aristocracies  on  the  com- 
mon Christmas  day — the  gladsome  birthday  of 
Christ  !  Herdsmen  are  on  a  visit  to  a  carpenter 
at  an  inn  ;  and  they  are  told  to  go  to  the  outhouse 


lOO  SERMONS  IN  SONGS. 

King  David  II.  Two  closing  suggestions. 

to  find  him  !  Beasts  are  standing  by  a  manger,  in 
which  lies  the  Child — King  David  the  Second  I 
But,  for  all  this  seems  so  democratic  and  small, 
please  remember  that  a  choir  of  angels  have  been 
singing  outside.  Who  among  us  is  too  proud  to 
listen  ?  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  Apocry- 
phal Gospels,  so  called,  those  uninspired  produc- 
tions which  long  claimed  a  denied  recognition  in 
God's  word,  assuming  to  give  a  more  full  and  de- 
tailed account  of  Jesus'  life,  although  they  are 
voluminous  to  repletion  or  prolix  to  weariness  on 
almost  every  other  incident,  hurry  right  across 
this  midnight  scene  of  singing,  in  utter  silence. 
These  supercilious  writers  seem  to  have  been 
mortified  to  find  that  this  divine  Messiah  was  an- 
nounced to  a  company  of  mere  laboring-men  ! 

Not  so  Mary  and  Joseph  ;  not  so  you  and  I. 
We  do  not  believe  these  honest  and  devout  herds- 
men felt  any  awkwardness  in  making  an  uncere- 
monious entrance  to  the  stable.  Why  should 
they  ?  Joseph  understood  himself  to  be  a  house- 
builder,  come  up  from  Nazareth  just  to  pay  his 
annual  taxes.  There  is  nothing  ever  in  one's  call- 
ing, if  it  be  honest,  to  be  ashamed  of,  when  one  is 
faithful  in  it  ;  we  may  be  certain  that,  when  com- 
ing to  Jesus,  there  is  nothing  whatsoever  to  be 
ashamed  of — nothing  in  the  world — but  just  our 
sins. 

My  brethren,  listen  to  two  suggestions  as  I  close 
this  sermon.  Beautiful  tokens  of  love  are  around 
you  these  holiday  weeks  of  the  year.     Where  do 


THE   "GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS."  lOI 

A  child's  gift  of  gold.  Why  are  men  so  apathetic  now  ? 


they  come  from  ?  "  Merry  Christmas" — why  is  it 
the  merriest  and  gladdest  day  we  see  ?  You  re- 
member that  after  a  while  some  wealthy  wise  men 
from  far  away  in  the  East  brought  heaps  upon 
heaps  of  costly  treasures  to  that  Holy  Family. 
Suffer  your  imagination  to  play  with  a  conceit 
better,  at  least,  than  the  fable  of  a  Saint  Nicholas  ; 
it  is  as  if  that  small  sweet  child  had  reached  his 
hand  forth  to  the  piles  of  gold  from  the  Magi,  and 
lifting  some  of  it  up  where  he  could,  had  dropped 
it  gently  through  into  your  home  ! 

And  then,  think  how  the  sensibility  those  sing- 
ing angels  displayed  contrasts  disadvantageously 
with  the  amazing  apathy  discovered  in  many  a 
human  heart,  under  the  full  exhibition  of  God's 
mercy  to  men  !  They  seem  gladder  to  know  that 
souls  may  be  saved  than  some  of  the  souls  for 
whom  that  wonderful  Child  came  into  being  ! 


IX. 

MEDITATION,    EMOTION,     UTTERANCE. 

"  While  I  was  musing,  the  fire  burned  ;  then  spake  I  with 
MY  tongue. — Psabn  39  :  3. 

A  GENERAL  principle  is  frequently  involved  in 
an  individual  instance.  So  one  man's  experience 
sometimes  stands  as  a  type  for  another's.  Here 
in  -this  psalm  we  observe  that  David  was  intensely 
excited;  his  heart  was  "hot"  within  him.  He 
was  thinking  deeply  of  some  things  he  had  done 
and  suffered.  By  this  he  was  moved.  His  inner 
nature  was  aroused  to  feeling.  While  he  was 
musing,  "the  fire  burned."  And  at  once  his 
tongue  was  loosed.  He  had  covenanted  with 
himself  previously  that  he  would  keep  his  mouth 
with  a  bridle  ;  he  Vv^ould  hold  his  peace  even  from 
good  ;  he  would  be  dumb  with  silence.  But  his 
heart  was  too  strong  for  his  will.  His  impetuous 
zeal  within  burst  over  and  through  the  barriers  ol 
self-restraint,  and  found  vent  in  speech  ;  he 
"  spake"  with  his  tongue. 

Now,  for  our  present  service,  it  matters  little 
what  was  the  cause  of  his  musing,  or  how  unhal- 
lovv^ed  was  the  flame  that  burned,  or  how  hasty 
were  the  words  he  spoke.  The  principle  of 
human  action  is  all  we  need  just  at  this  moment. 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.  IO3 

Christian  musing.  An  adopted  child. 

Whatever  a  man  thoughtfully  ponders,  moves 
him  ;  whatever  moves  him  hotly  within,  makes 
itself  to  be  heard  and  known  without. 

That  is  to  say,  three  things  here  mentioned  are 
apt  to  follow  each  other  in  turn— meditation, 
emotion,  utterance.  If  one  fails,  the  others  will 
be  absent. 

This  thought  will  be  found  helpful  in  many  in- 
stances, and  will  explain  some  mysteries  in  Chris- 
tian experience.  We  make  use  of  it  here  to-day 
as  we  approach  the  Lord's  Table.  If  a  Christian 
muses,  while  he  is  sitting  at  this  communion  feast, 
the  fire  of  religious  emotion  will  burn  ;  and  when 
he  is  hot  with  feeling,  his  tongue  will  be  loosed 
into  speech. 

I.  The  line  of  proper  experience  begins  with 
meditation. 

A  true  believer  should  seek  to  become  a 
thoughtful  man,  so  that  God  may  be  in  all  his 
thoughts.  It  was  once  charged  as  a  sin  upon 
Israel  by  God  himself:  "My  people  doth  not 
consider."  It  is  this  after-process  of  digesting 
spiritual  food  which  makes  it  available  for  nour- 
ishment. When  wonderful  things  were  spoken  of 
the  infant  Jesus,  we  are  told  that  "  Mary  pon- 
dered them  in  her  heart."  Here,  at  the  commun- 
ion-table, beyond  all  other  places  in  the  wide 
world,  we  ought  to  be  meditative.  We  all  pro- 
fess to  be,  and  we  all  ought  to  be,  "  musing." 

I.  There  is  our  former  state  to  come  in  review. 
Most  appropriate  it  is  for  a  child  of  adoption  to 


I04  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

No  claim  or  desert.  The  cripple  Mephibosheth. 

call  to  mind  his  early  home  of  poverty,  his  worry 
and  his  want  before  the  generous  offer  came 
which  brought  him  to  the  mansion  of  plenty. 
And  most  meet  it  is  for  the  adopted  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  God  Almighty  to  think 
soberly  of  the  time  when  they  were  far  from  his 
love. 

How  helpless  we  were  when  the  call  of  divine 
favor  came  !  Poor  old  Mordecai  had  some  sort 
of  a  claim  on  King  Ahasuerus.  Barzillai  had  once 
put  David  under  obligation  to  him.  But  we  had 
never  done  anything  for  God,  when  he  showed  us 
his  tenderness  and  grace.  We  were  simply  lost 
and  ruined  when  the  Saviour  found  us. 

How  unlovely  and  undeserving  we  were  when 
he  offered  us  his  highest  honors  !  In  the  barley- 
field,  the  beauty  of  Ruth  found  fitting  exhibition 
before  the  eyes  of  her  kinsman  Boaz,  and  this  won 
him  to  do  her  a  kindness.  Even  the  outcast  infant 
Moses,  down  in  the  buh-ush-ark,  was  a  goodly 
child  in  the  estimate  of  Pharaoh's  daughter.  But 
we  had  no  spiritual  lovehness — none  whatever — to 
commend  us  to  God's  mercy. 

How  unpromising  for  the  eternal  future  we 
were,  when  Christ  brought  us  the  pardon  of  our 
sins  !  Timothy  gave  all  his  young  fresh  heart  to 
Paul,  and  so  the  apostle  loved  him.  The  crippled 
Mephibosheth  was  Jonathan's  child  ;  so  David 
proffered  him  a  seat  at  the  royal  table.  But  we 
had  been  rebels  and  enemies  all  our  lives,  and  in 
no  sense  did'  we  promise  anything  better  for  the 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.  I05 

God's  choice  sovereign.  Sacrificial  atonement. 

years  to  come.  God  never  chose  any  man  for 
what  he  was,  nor  for  what  he  had  been,  nor  for 
what  unaided  he  was  going  to  be.  Just  here,  at 
this  lonesomest  point,  with  no  earthly  parallel 
even  for  an  illustration,  the  great  grace  of  our 
Saviour  began. 

Now,  this  is  a  thing  to  be  thought  of.  Our 
former  state  comes  in  review.  God  commended 
his  love  toward  us,  "in  that  while  we  were  yet 
sinners,  Christ  died  for  us." 

2.  Then,  next  to  this,  there  would  come  the 
plan  for  our  relief,  as  a  new  theme  for  meditation. 
Of  this  the  simple  elements  employed  at  the  com- 
munion-table are  designed  to  remind  us.  They 
picture  the  thought  they  suggest.  The  broken 
bread  relates  the  whole  story  of  the  Cross  ;  the 
wine  poured  out  tells  the  tale  of  sorrowful  Cal- 
vary. 

The  sacrificial  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  chief  theme  for  our  musing  at  this 
feast,  just  as  it  was  the  chief  theme  of  conversation 
on  the  mount  where  our  Lord  was  transfigured, 
when  Moses  and  Elijah  talked  of  "  his  decease 
which  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem. "  Here, 
as  nowhere  else,  "ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death, 
till  he  come." 

The  sacrificial  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  what  renders  this  ordinance  the  highest 
among  all  the  institutions  of  the  New  Testament 
church.  It  is  far  more  than  a  mere  monument  of 
commemoration  ;  it  is  an  instrument  of   instruc- 


I06  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  doctrinal  serrnon.  Qiinint  old  rhyme. 

tion.  Every  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  one  of  the  most  vivid  and  powerful  doctrinal 
sermons  human  ears  are  ever  permitted  to  hear. 
"  Christ  and  his  cross  are  all  our  theme."  Here 
at  the  table,  each  Christian  should  expect  to  re- 
ceive, and  should  receive,  a  clearer  and  more  ad- 
miring view  of  God's  wisdom  in  furnishing  a  plan 
of  salvation  so  stupendous,  and  provisions  for  car- 
rying it  out  so  munificent.  Such  a  view  he  cer- 
tainly will  receive,  if  he  "  muses." 

3.  Nor  is  this  all  :  there  remains  as  a  theme  for 
meditation  the  present  exalted  position  which  the 
true  believer  occupies. 

It  is  the  wonderful  swiftness  of  the  change 
which  men  of  the  world  can  never  be  made  to  un- 
derstand. From  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  from 
the  mendicant  to  the  prince,  in  one  supreme  mo- 
ment the  sinner  becomes  a  child,  the  servant  a 
son.  Why  is  the  rapidity  of  the  spiritual  change 
considered  suspicious  ?  Joseph  stepped  from  the 
pit  to  the  ruler's  throne  in  Pharaoh's  kingdom  ; 
Daniel  came  from  the  lion's  den  into  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's palace.  Bartimeus  was  one  instant  blind, 
the  next  instant  he  saw.  God  never  does  any- 
thing imperfectl}'.  The  quick  conversions  re- 
corded in  the  New  Testament  are  the  most  wor- 
thy of  trust.  It  was  a  quaint  old  rhyme  which 
told  the  simple  truth  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  : 

"  Between  the  stirrup  and  the  ground, 
He  mercy  sought,  and  mercy  found." 

But  the  extent  of  the  change  is  what  appears  to 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.  lO/ 

Our  exalted  position.  Fire  in  one's  bones. 

the  Christian  the  most  marvellous,  after  all.  "  Be- 
hold what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
upon  us  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God." 
We  have  the  name  of  a  new  parent  ;  we  are  cared 
for  from  a  new  treasury  ;  we  are  defended  by  a 
new  power  ;  we  are  guided  by  a  new  wisdom  ;  we 
are  governed  by  a  new  sovereignty.  We  are  reck- 
oned in  the  ro)'al  family,  and  made  heirs  of  a  celes- 
tial estate.  Justice,  who  came  to  us  with  a  drawn 
sword  demanding  penalty,  now  stands  at  the  door 
of  the  banquet-hall  challenging  the  accuser,  and 
crying  out,  "  Who  shall  lay  anj^thing  to  the  charge 
of  God's  elect  ?" 

Oh,  these  are  the  things  to  muse  upon  at  the 
Lord's  table  !  These  are  the  themes  of  thought 
which  never  grow  old.  We  feel  at  such  times  as 
we  imagine  King  David  must  have  felt  when  he 
said  :  "  Who  am  I,  O  Lord  God  !  and  what  is 
my  house,  that  thou  hast  brought  me  hitherto  ? 
And  this  was  yet  a  small  thing  in  thy  sight,  but 
thou  hast  spoken  also  of  thy  servant's  house  for  a 
great  while  to  come." 

IL  Thus  we  reach  our  second  point  in  the  text. 
While  the  Christian  muses,  the  fire  burns.  He 
feels  like  Jeremiah  of  old  :  ' '  his  word  was  in  mine 
heart  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones  ;  I 
was  weary  with  forbearing,  and  I  could  not  stay.  " 
Emotion  follows  meditation  ;  the  believer's  heart 
is  full. 

I.  Gratitude  is  one  of  the  elements  of  his  feel- 
ing.    Like  Naaman,  when  he  came  up  healed  and 


Io8  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Gratitude  and  joy.  "  Three  great  leaps." 

clean  out  of  Jordan,  the  new  convert  wants  to 
make  a  present  to  somebody.  If  we  were  to  ana- 
lyze our  wish,  we  should  find  that  it  has  risen  out 
of  a  recollection  of  what  Jesus  Christ  has  done  for 
us.  We  love  him  because  he  first  loved  us. 
Thus  the  fire  of  gratitude  burns. 

2.  Joy  is  another  element  of  the  true  Christian's 
emotion.  The  moment  that,  in  Bunyan's  alle- 
gory, the  burden  of  sin  rolled  off  from  the  Pil- 
grim's back  and  was  lost  in  the  Saviour's  sepul- 
chre, one  shining  spirit  came  forth  to  say  words 
of  cheer  and  pardon  ;  then  another  stripped  him 
of  his  rags,  and  clothed  him  with  a  change  of  rai- 
ment ;  a  third  set  a  mark  on  his  forehead,  and 
presented  him  with  a  roll  having  a  seal  on  it, 
which  roll  he  was  to  give  in  at  the  celestial  gate. 
Now,  observe  the  happy  Christian  left  all  alone  ; 
what  did  he  do  ?  Will  you  smile  at  the  poverty 
of  Bunyan's  quaint  conceit  ?  What  else  could  he 
do  with  his  hero  in  that  supreme  height  of  experi- 
ence, when  he  was  so  light-hearted  and  glad  he 
coidd  not  contain  himself  ?  He  tells  us  that  the 
Pilgrim  "  gave  three  great  leaps  for  joy  and  went 
on  singing."     Thus  the  fire  of  joy  burns. 

3.  Self-abasement  is  another  element  in  the  be- 
liever's emotion.  True  gratitude  is  always  self- 
distrustful  and  modest.  What  has  been  received 
seems  so  much  ;  what  can  be  returned  seems  so 
little.  The  soul  of  the  humble  Christian  is  as 
timid  and  bashful  as  that  of  the  Bride  in  the  Can- 
ticles.    When  the  King  says  to  her,  "  Thou   art 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.  lOQ 

"  Fairest  among  women."  A  child's  sudden  gladness. 

beautiful,  O  my  love,  as  Tirzah,  comely  as  Jeru- 
salem !"  she  almost  seeks  to  hide  herself,  and 
would  murmur,  "  Look  not  upon  me,  because  I 
am  black,  because  the  sun  hath  looked  upon  me  !" 
But  when  he  replies  again  so  kindly  and  cheer- 
fully, "  O  thou  fairest  among  women,"  all  she  can 
sa}'  is,  in  the  depth  of  her  wonder  :  "  He  brought 
me  to  the  banqueting  house,  and  his  banner  over 
me  was  love."  Thus  the  fire  of  self-abasement 
burns. 

4.  Affection,  therefore,  may  be  considered  the 
chief  element  in  the  Christian's  emotion  at  the 
communion-table.  There  are  periods  in  which 
the  sternest  heart  seems  more  distended  with  feel- 
ing than  usual,  more  agitated  with  love  to  an  un- 
seen Saviour  than  is  its  wont.  We  sit  under  his 
shadow  with  great  delight.  Like  the  disciples 
going  to  Emmaus,  we  feel  a  strange  sort  of  wel- 
come for  his  presence.  Our  hearts  "  burn  within 
us"  as  he  seems  to  talk  by  the  way.  We  count 
all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  Christ. 
This  ordinance  has  a  sort  of  beckoning  character 
to  it.  We  have  seen  a  child  run  to  his  father's 
arms  sometimes  with  a  full  burst  of  surprising 
gladness,  a  shout  of  simple-hearted  laughter  fairly 
ringing  in  the  room  as  he  buried  his  face  in  his 
bosom.  Now,  this  was  not  because  that  child  just 
then  discovered  in  his  parent's  face  a  loveliness  he 
never  saw  before,  nor  because  there  flashed  across 
his  mind  a  sudden  remembrance  of  how  much  he 
owed  to  his  father  for  his  care  along  the  )^ears  ; 


no  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  Mary — Rabboni."  Speaking  out  refreshes. 

but  simply  because  in  the  midst  of  his  play  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  a  gesture  from  him  ;  he  saw 
his  arms  were  held  out  toward  him,  and  so  he 
rushed  to  reach  his  welcome  in  the  caress.  So  at 
the  communion-table,  we  seem  to  notice  that  our 
Lord  is  beckoning  us  to  come  into  nearness  of 
companionship  with  him.  Mary  Magdalene  may 
stand  in  sorrow  even  when  the  gardener  is  at  her 
side.  But  if  he  says  "  Mary"  to  her,  in  a  way  no 
one  else  ever  said  it,  she  will  answer  "  Rabboni," 
in  her  turn.  But  her  love  will  have  in  it  possibly 
less  of  prostration,  and  perhaps  more  of  tears.  So 
may  ours  ;  while  we  arc  musing,  the  fire  of  affec- 
tion burns. 

III.  Now  we  move  on  in  the  order  of  our  text. 
Such  feeling  as  this  we  have  analyzed  together 
will  be  sure  to  find  vent.  All  these  elements  of 
Christian  emotion  are  active.  When  they  per- 
vade the  soul,  they  move  the  man.  Generally 
they  find  manifestation  in  speech  :  "  While  I  was 
musing,"  says  David,  "  the  fire  burned  ;  then 
spake  I  with  my  tongue." 

The  child  of  God  finds  three  objects  of  address 
in  the  utterance  to  which  his  emotion  at  the  com- 
munion-table leads  him.  In  the  words  of  the 
young  Elihu,  he  acknowledges  it  would  do  him 
good  to  talk:  "I  am  full  of  matter;  the  spirit 
within  me  constraincth  me  ;  I  will  speak  that  I 
may  be  refreshed  ;  I  will  open  my  lips  and  answer, " 
The  Christian  has  something  he  would  like  to 
say  to  his  Saviour,  to  himself,  to  his  fellowmen. 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.         Ill 

What  one  says  to  God.  Sudden  doxologies. 

I.  What  would  he  be  likely  to  say  to  God? 
Reniembermg  all  that  had  been  done  for  him,  and 
all  that  now  was  freely  put  at  his  disposal,  praise 
and  prayer  are  what  he  would  choose  for  the 
vehicles  of  his  expression.  Christ  himself  would 
be  all  his  meditation  and  remark.  From  the  very 
fulness  of  his  soul  he  would  join  with  the  apostle 
in  exclaiming,  "  Thanks  be  unto  thee  for  thine  un- 
speakable gift." 

This  is  the  reason  why  holy  men  of  old  passed 
so  suddenly  into  doxology,  the  moment  they  began 
to  talk  concerning  the  atonement  made  by  Jesus. 
John  was  about  to  pen  the  Book  of  Revelation  ; 
there  was  no  rhetorical  reason  at  all  why  he  should 
begin  with  an  ascription  of  praise.  But  he  men- 
tioned the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  "  faithful 
witness,"  and  instantly  he  could  not  contain  him- 
self ;  he  burst  forth  :  "  Unto  him  that  loved  us, 
and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and 
hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his 
Father  ;  to  him  be  glory,  and  dominion  forever 
and  ever.  Amen."  So  Paul  ;  he  was  composing 
a  cool  theological  letter  to  the  Romans.  He  had 
no  need  to  do  anything  more  than  to  reason  clearly 
and  prove  his  points.  But  the  vision  of  grace  and 
glory  was  too  much  lor  him.  Overpowered  with 
his  own  thought,  he  rose  right  up  through  his  logic 
with  an  ascription  of  adoring  wonder.  In  the  midst 
of  his  argument,  you  are  startled  to  see  him  lift 
his  clasped  hands  to  exclaim  :  "  Oh,  the  depth  of 
the  riches  both    of    the    wisdom    and    knowledgre 


112  SERMONS   IN   SONGS, 

Communion  hymns  by  proxy  !  The  prodigal's  thoughts. 

of  God  !  How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments, 
and  his  ways  past  finding  out  !" 

This  is  the  reason,  likewise,  why  communion 
hymns  are  always  sung  so  much  with  the  spirit 
and  the  understanding  also.  Christians  are  filled 
to  the  full  with  the  love  of  God.  When  believers 
are  most  devoutly  religious,  they  most  sensitively 
disdain  the  aid  of  others  in  uttering  their  songs. 
They  want  to  sing  for  themselves.  Think  of 
requesting  another  person  to  be  our  spokesman 
when  we  wish  to  say  : 

"  On  thee  alone  my  hope  relies, 
Beneath  thy  cross  I  fall  ; 
My  Lord,  my  Life,  my  Sacrifice  ! 
My  Saviour,  and  my  All  1" 

Oh,  we  need  more  of  this  outspeaking  of  our 
hearts  unto  God — more  of  this  musing,  and  more 
of  this  burning  fire — then  will  our  prayers  and 
our  praises  be  fervent  and  effectual  ! 

2.  But  what  would  the  child  of  God  be  likely 
to  say  to  his  own  soul  at  the  communion-table  ? 
Do  you  think  that  the  prodigal  son,  who  had  re- 
turned once  more  to  his  father's  house,  had  no 
speech  with  himself  that  night,  when  he  found  his 
home  again  in  his  old  chamber  ?  He  had  made 
all  the  words  he  could  with  his  father  below  ;  but 
now,  alone  in  the  room  where  his  better  years 
had  been  spent,  had  he  nothing  to  say  to  his  own 
heart?  It  seems  to  me  we  should  all  agree,  if  we 
were  to  say  he  sat  down  a  moment  for  reflection, 
and  then  arose  to  cry  out  :  "  Oh,  how  good,  how 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.  II 3 

A  fresh  start  taken.  Chamber  called  "  Peace." 

patient,  how  generous  my  father  has  been  to  me  !" 
But  next  to  that,  he  would  begin  to  make  resohi- 
tions  for  all  the  future.  He  would  congratulate 
himself  on  his  safety,  and  on  his  welcome,  and  on 
his  prospects.  He  would  counsel  his  own  soul  as 
to  the  old  besetting  sins.  He  would  warn  him- 
self against  former  associates  whose  influence  had 
led  him  astray.  He  would  plan  ingeniously  how 
he  would  make  up  lost  time,  and  give  comfort  to 
his  father.  And  I  think  he  would  seek  some  way 
to  win  back  his  brother  who  had  been  rebuked. 

Thus  the  Christian  at  the  communion-table  will 
have  words  enough  to  say  to  himself,  as  well  as 
to  God.  We  remember  another  scene  in  "  Pil- 
grim's Progress  ;"  Christian  was  left  in  a  large 
upper  chamber,  whose  window  opened  toward 
the  sun-rising.  There  he  slept  until  the  break  of 
day  ;  then  he  awoke  and  sang  : 

"  Where  am  I  now  ?     Is  this  the  love  and  care 
Of  Jesus  ;  for  the  men  that  pilgrims  are, 
Thus  to  provide  ?  That  /should  be  forgiven, 
And  dwell  already  the  next  door  to  heaven  !" 

It  would  be  better  for  us  if  we  talked  more  to 
ourselves,  and  made  such  melody  in  our  hearts. 
We  ought  to  speak  to  our  o.wn  souls  words  of 
comfort,  words  of  counsel,  words  of  cheer,  words 
of  resolve,  words  of  hope.  And  we  shall  help 
ourselves  thus  by  our  "  musing." 

3.  Then,  finally,  the  true  Christian  will  have 
something  to  say  to  his  fellow-men  when  he  comes 
forth  from  the  communion-table,  provided  he  has 


114  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Let  others  know.  Let  others  share. 

been  musing  aright.  What  the  Psabnist  said  once 
seems  always  appropriate  :  "  Come  and  bear,  all 
3^e  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he  hath 
done  for  my  soul." 

The  heart  longs  to  have  others  knoiu  the  love  of 
God.  Why  are  we  ever  reluctant  to  speak  of 
what  we  have  received  ?  It  is  a  most  singular 
matter  of  observation,  that  persons  of  highest 
classical  education  are  not  offended  when  they 
bear  the  heroes  of  Homer  attributing  all  their 
successes  to  the  gods  ;  but  when  devout  Chris- 
tians do  the  same,  and  claim  special  providences 
as  themes  of  grateful  acknowledgment,  they  will 
call  it  cant.  It  is  well  for  the  New  Testament  be- 
liever to  show  himself  always  as  religious  at  least 
as  one  of  the  pagans  of  the  Iliad.  Let  him  muse  ; 
let  the  fire  burn  ;  then  let  him  speak  with  his 
tongue. 

The  heart  longs  more  still  to  have  others  s/ia?-e 
the  love  of  God.  The  spirit  of  Christianity  is 
diffusive.  No  wish  of  any  human  heart  is  more 
solicitous  than  that  which  a  Christian  feels  at  the 
Lord's  table  for  those  who  are  outside  of  the 
guest-chamber.  Our  true  relief  is  found  in  sim- 
ply speaking  out.  Let  the  sweet,  glad  invitation 
of  the  gospel  be  pressed  at  the  moment  when  the 
heart  is  full  of  desire.  Let  the  tongue  speak, 
when  the  fire  burns  ;  let  the  fire  burn  when  the 
heart  muses,  for  love  itself  is  a  force. 

The  grand  conclusion  from  all  this  discussion  is 
simple  enough,  my  Christian  friends,  but  it  is  full 


MEDITATION,    EMOTION,    UTTERANCE.         II 5 

A  grateful  insanity.  "  A  man  died  for  me." 

of  meaning.  Let  all  true  believers  talk  constantly, 
talk  openly,  talk  earnestly  of  the  love  of  God.  No 
matter  how  plain  and  direct  the  words  may  be,  let 
no  tongue  consent  to  be  silent,  lest  even  the  stones 
cry  out. 

I  have  read  of  a  man  who  was  saved  from  a 
wrecked  vessel.  But  he  had  the  unspeakable 
horror  of  seeing  the  very  sailor  who  had  dragged 
him  ashore,  swept — worn  and  spent  as  he  was — 
back  into  the  waves,  and  drowned  before  his  e3''es. 
His  reason  shook  a  little  under  the  strain.  After 
long  months  of  care,  of  waiting,  and  of  nursing, 
his  sense  returned  so  that  he  resumed  his  place 
among  men.  But  he  never  forgot  his  obligation. 
He  could  say  but  little  ;  but  it  was  noticed  that 
he  always  closed  every  conversation,  whether  of 
business  or  of  friendliness,  whether  with  stranger 
or  with  acquaintance,  with  the  pathetic  words, 
"  A  man  died  for  me  once  !"  He  would  come 
back,  after  he  had  closed  the  door,  with  a  soft, 
gentle,  wistful  look  on  his  face,  and  say,  "  A  man 
died  for  me  once  !" 

Oh,  my  friend,  whoever  you  are,  possibly  you 
can  say  no  more  than  that,  but  tJiat  you  can  say, 
"  A  man  died  for  me  once  1"  Take  your  fellow- 
man  by  the  hand  ;  tell  him  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
crucified  for  you  on  Golgotha.  Speak  of  it  mod- 
estly ;  speak  of  it  tenderly  and  lovingly  ;  and  so 
may  God's  blessing  help  you  sometimes  to  speak 
of  it  winningly,  and  thus  lead  another  soul  to  sal- 
vation. 


X. 

THE   RESERVED   POWER   OF   GOD. 

"  He  had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hand  :  and  there  was 

THE   HIDING  OF  HIS  POWER." — Habakkiik  3  :  4. 

This  chapter  is  entitled  :  'A  prayer  of  Habak- 
kuk  the  prophet,  set  to  Shigionoth."  And  our 
English  Bibles  say  in  the  margin  :  "  According 
to  variable  songs  or  tunes,  called  in  Hebrew 
Shigionoth." 

A  horn  is  the  ancient  symbol  of  strength. 
When  here  brought  into  use,  the  impression  is 
for  a  moment  gained  that  the  divine  attribute  of 
omnipotence  is  to  be  put  under  process  of  exhibi- 
tion. 

But  just  at  that  point  the  inspired  poet  with- 
draws from  the  effort,  and  signifies  he  only  desires 
to  intimate  what  he  does  not  aspire  to  reach.  He 
thus  describes  almightiness  most  impressively  by 
declining  to  describe  it  at  all.  He  does  not  sa}'', 
as  we  are  expecting,  "  He  had  horns  coming  out 
of  his  hand,  and  there  was  his  power;"  but  he 
says,  "  There  was  the  hiding  of  his  power." 

Just  as  if  some  master-painter  had  limned  upon 
his  canvas  the  recognized  and  sinewy  form  of 
Samson,  as  the  one  type  of  giant  violence  and 
force  ;  and,  while  you  were  waiting  curiously  to 


THE   RESERVED    POWER   OF   GOD.  11/ 

Rhetorical  ingenuity.  God  in  nature. 

discover  the  bold  features  of  his  countenance,  and 
measure  somewhat  the  muscles  of  the  arm  which 
upheld  the  brazen  gates  of  Gaza,  the  cunning 
artist  had  surprised  you  by  picturing  the  Hebrew 
champion  with  his  face  averted  and  his  arm  hidden 
behind  the  burly  bulk  of  his  frame. 

So  the  prophet  here  presents  omnipotence.  By 
an  ingenuity  of  rhetoric,  he  offers,  concerning 
this  truly  indescribable  attribute,  a  hint  far  more 
suggestive  than  any  plain  words  could  furnish. 

Our  theme  of  thought  this  morning  is  just  this, 
thus  dimly  indicated — the  reserved  power  of  God. 
Power  he  has  in  display,  but  the  power  he  pos- 
sesses undisplayed  is  far  greater.  In  the  hand  we 
gaze  upon  there  is  might  in  exercise  ;  this  no  one 
of  us  has  intended  to  forget  ;  we  all  recognize  and 
admire  the  almightiness  of  God.  But  while  we 
are  looking,  we  suddenly  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
horns  that  come  out  of  the  hand,  and  there  is  the 
hiding  of  his  might  in  reserve.  To  illustrate  this 
possession,  and  infer  some  practical  good  from 
the  discovery  of  it,  is  our  present  aim, 

I.  And  to  show  you  in  the  outset  how  perfectly 
unambitious  and  unlabored  is  meant  to  be  the 
tranquil  development  of  our  theme,  let  me  ask 
you,  in  the  first  place,  to  enter  the  field  of  nature 
around  us  for  a  brief  examination  of  what  is  famil- 
iar. Something,  I  feel  sure,  we  shall  find  that  we 
know  ;  more  it  is  possible  we  shall  find  which  is 
not  so  much  seen  as  it  is  suggested. 

The  truth  is,  our  knowledge  of  either  what  God 


Il8  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Earthquake  in  the  Indies.  Might  hints  at  all-might. 

can  do  or  of  what  he  does  do  is  relative.  More 
experience,  wider  range  of  educated  acquaint- 
ance, always  shows  us  that  we  have  a  great  deal 
more  yet  to  learn.  A  stranger  in  the  Indies  is 
startled  one  morning  by  the  shaking  of  an  earth- 
quake. It  is  a  mere  jar  of  the  planet,  and  is  going 
to  do  no  harm  ;  but  he  imagines  it  one  of  the 
severest  convulsions  that  ever  rocked  the  uni- 
verse. But  some  bronzed  old  planter  there  will 
smile  at  his  trepidation,  telling  the  story  of  that 
former  occasion,  when,  amid  the  throes  of  writh- 
ing matter,  the  trembling  of  the  hills,  the  crash  of 
dwellings,  the  wild  surges  of  the  unseen  waves  of 
subterranean  fire,  it  would  have  been  well  to  grow 
alarmed  for  one's  self,  and  awe-struck  at  the  re- 
sistless danger. 

So  we  all  are  accustomed  to  pass  on  up  through 
the  line  of  a  personal  and  historic  experience,  find- 
ing always  a  degree  beyond  a  degree — something 
to  reach  that  was  not  expected.  Hence  it  would 
be  difficult  to  say  whereabouts  our  sense  of  power 
ought  to  end  or  our  conjecture  of  the  hiding  of 
power  ought  to  begin.  An  infinite  suggestivcness 
seems  to  pervade  the  universe.  Might  hints  at 
more  might,  and  advances  toward  all-might  ; 
potency  proves  omnipotence. 

For  we  say  to  ourselves,  If  God  can  do  all  this 
which  we  see  in  the  rushing  of  the  torrents,  the 
sweep  of  the  hurricane,  the  upheaving  of  the 
ocean,  and  the  swinging  of  the  stars,  what  is  there 
he  cannot  do  ?     Could  not  he,  who  crushes  a  ship 


THE    RESERVED    POWER   OF   GOD.  II9 

Whispers  and  thunders.  God  in  history. 

SO  resistlessly  between  icebergs,  crush  a  world 
just  as  well  ?  Could  not  he,  who  uproots  the  tree 
so  suddenly  with  his  lightning  in  the  summer 
storm,  shiver  a  universe  as  swiftly  with  only  the 
bright  glancing  of  his  eye  ?  To  a  child  there  is 
in  these  sublime  effects  merely  the  evidence  and 
the  exhibition  of  a  power  before  which  he  trem- 
bles. But  to  the  mature  man  there  is  in  them  the 
hiding  of  powder  before  the  mystery  of  which  he 
trembles  much  more.  "  Lo,  these  are  but  parts 
of  his  ways  ;  how  there  is  only  a  whisper  heard 
of  him  ;  the  thunder  of  his  power,  who  can  un- 
derstand !"  If  the  hand  be  so  admirable  to  a 
thoughtful  beholder,  what  shall  we  say  concern- 
ing the  horns  within  the  hand,  that  show  a  reserve 
the  limit  of  which  is  not  known  ? 

II.  Rising  a  little  higher  in  our  thought,  we 
find,  in  the  second  place,  new  illustrations  of  the 
theme  in  the  wide  economics  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, which  our  God  is  continually  managing. 

All  history  now  lies  open  before  us.  See  how 
quickly  and  quietly  the  Almighty  controls  the 
generations  of  men.  How  easily,  in  that  far  be- 
ginning, he  scattered  the  race  to  people  the  world 
with  men  and  beasts  !  We  talk  about  the  strength 
of  human  governments  abroad  over  the  continents 
and  along  the  ages  ;  think  how  many  of  potent 
kings  he  has  swept  away  with  the  breath  of  his 
nostril  !  Just  try  to  recall  how  vast  a  number  of 
princes  have  occupied  any  given  territory  since 
the  crucifixion  of  Christ.     Nqwhere  is  there  found 


I20  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Sand  in  an  elephant's  eye.  Things  foolish  and  base. 

SO  plain  and  full  a  record  of  the  reserved  power 
God  holds  as  has  been  written  on  the  ruins  of  the 
dying  dynasties  he  has  overthrown. 

Now,  the  one  thing"  to  notice  in  this  particular 
is  the  strange  fact  that,  in  the  accomplishment  of 
such  vast  and  revolutionary  designs,  the  mighty 
God  has  not  seen  fit  to  employ  ordinary  means  at 
all.  The  convulsions  of  empire  by  which  the 
earth's  history  grows  clear  have  always  been 
brought  about  in  some  novel,  some  singular  and 
unprecedented,  way  that  gave  a  surprise  when  it 
arrived.  For  example,  a  grain  of  sand  is  drifted 
into  the  e)^e  of  an  elephant  in  the  lead  of  a  cohort 
of  soldiers  ;  this  starts  a  panic  ;  the  army  is  de- 
feated, the  kingdom  is  overthrown.  So  again  : 
only  the  east  wind  drives  down  suddenly  upon 
the  English  sea  ;  an  armada  is  scattered  ;  a  savage 
expedition  against  Protestantism  is  thwarted  ;  a 
free  sovereignty  is  released  from  menace,  and  the 
Reformation  is  confirmed. 

This  is  the  rule  :  God  does  great  things,  not  by 
his  power  only,  as  we  see  it  in  exercise,  but  more 
yet  by  his  power  in  reserve.  Evidently  he  is  mov- 
ing men  and  things  always  by  resistless  energy  ; 
but  his  methods  have  oftentimes  been  obscure.  He 
has  had  his  will  ;  "  but  God  hath  chosen  the  fool- 
ish things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise  ;  and 
God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  which  are  mighty  ;  and  base 
things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised, 
hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which   are  not. 


THE   RESERVED   POWER   OF   GOD.  121 

Coral  and  coal.  Inventions  and  discoveries. 

to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are  ;  that  no   flesh' 
should  glory  in  his  presence," 

Hence,  so  far  from  believing  Jehovah  has  ex- 
hausted his  whole  resources  in  these  stupendous 
arrangements  of  the  nations  which  he  has  man- 
aged, we  are  only  the  more  forcibly  impressed  by 
the  conclusion  that  greater  power  was  hidden 
than  was  disclosed.  Every  now  and  then  some 
new  discovery  comes  out  to  view,  showing  that 
what  amazed  us  so  much  was  no  unexpected  thing 
to  him.  To-day  it  may  be  a  fresh  island,  on  the 
formation  of  which  the  coral  insects  have  silently 
been  toiling  for  unnoticed  ages.  To-morrow  it 
may  be  a  new  sea,  in  which  tribes  of  strange  in- 
habitants have  been  maturing  for  fitful  years. 
One  season  the  coal-beds  are  opened,  where  the 
far-casting  foresight  of  God,  unwatched  and  un- 
suspected, had  laid  down  supplies  of  solid  fuel, 
myriads  of  generations  before  even  one  man  had 
been  born.  Another  season  we  discover  fresh 
natural  agencies  going  forth  to  supplement  human 
industry,  the  most  subtle  elements  of  the  air  obe- 
diently bearing  errands  of  ingenuity  and  need. 
More  and  more  we  are  becojning  convinced  that 
there  is  no  limit  to  these  inventions  and  discoveries. 
Each  successive  disclosure  of  God's  unique  and 
surprising  methods  of  working  is  only  a  sign  that 
there  is  no  end  to  the  wisdom  he  has  in  employ. 
The  moment  we  see  where  his  hand  is  uplifted,  we 
look  instinctively  to  learn  what  the  horn  in  the  hand 
is  going  to  do  ;  for  there  is  the  hiding  of  his  power. 


122  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

S(jine  inferences.  Inadequate  knowledge  of  God. 

We  need  go  no  further  in  mere  illustration.  It 
is  sufficiently  clear  that  there  is  an  infinite  measure 
of  power  in  the  hand  of  God  reserved  for  every 
exigency  which  may  call  it  forth.  A  few  infer- 
ences from  this  fact  will  make  the  whole  subject 
now  our  own. 

I.  First  of  all,  you  see  here,  of  course,  the  fee- 
bleness and  inadequacy  of  many  of  our  ordinary 
conceptions  of  our  Maker. 

We  meditate  often  on  omnipotence  ;  for  it  is 
perhaps  the  most  striking  in  its  manifestations  of 
all  the  attributes  of  the  divine  Being.  We  are 
wont  to  tremble  in  the  storm  ;  we  hush  our  voices 
at  the  roar  of  the  sea  ;  we  are  appalled  by  the 
hurricane  ;  we  feel  new  alarm  at  each  coming  of  a 
pestilence  ;  and  we  say  confusedly,  Only  God  is 
great  !  But  when  we  pass  beyond  the  reach  of 
sight,  and  suffer  our  minds  to  be  touched  by  hints 
and  suggestions  alone,  how  is  it  possible  for  us  to 
force  ourselves  up  to  that  more  exalted  realization 
of  him  which  is  based  upon  the  unseen  and  un- 
known ?  If  the  notion  of  finite  power  be  so  sub- 
duing to  human  thought,  what  shall  we  venture 
to  say  concerning  power  which  is  infinite  ? 

Still,  this  is  only  one  and  the  plainest  of  the 
Divine  attributes.  Omnipotence,  with  all  its  in- 
cludings  of  power  in  exercise  and  power  in  re- 
serve, with  all  its  surroundings  and  implications, 
with  all  its  stupendous  inferences  and  possibilities, 
is  only  one  element  in  the  conception  we  are  to 
have  of  our  Maker.     He  has   wisdom   as  well  as 


THE   RESERVED   POWER   OF   GOD.  1 23 

All  attributes  in  reserve.  Moses  in  the  rock-cleft. 

power  ;  and  he  has,  of  course,  reserved  wisdom 
as  absolutely  as  he  has  reserved  power.  He  has 
goodness  likewise,  and  so  he  must  have  reserved 
goodness  also.  God  has  reserved  holiness,  which 
we  could  not  even  comprehend  now.  So  he  has 
justice  in  exercise,  and  justice  in  reserve.  Each 
one  of  his  attributes,  in  like  manner,  doubles  on 
our  imagination.  Beyond  all  we  learn  of  it,  an 
infinity  of  manifestation  which  none  of  our  minds 
can  wholly  grasp  stretches  away  out  of  sight. 
And  just  this  offers  us  a  hint  as  to  the  occupations 
of  heaven  ;  there  will  be  much  yet  to  learn  of 
Jehovah's  excellence  forever,  when  we  stand  in 
his  revealed  presence. 

When,  therefore,  we  have  been  straining  our 
feeble  faculties  to  their  utmost  tension,  rising  to 
the  extreme  exercise  of  our  imaginations  just  to 
attain  the  one  idea  of  almightiness,  then  comes  a 
humiliating  remembrance  that  we  have  only 
touched  one  single  point  in  his  perfections  ;  all 
the  rest  remain  unexhausted  and  untouched. 
"Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God?  canst 
thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  It 
is  as  high  as  heaven  ;  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper 
than  hell  ;  what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure 
thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader  than 
the  sea."  The  most  we  can  hope  to  do  is  to  hide 
in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  as  did  Moses,  and  then 
feel  we  have  discovered  no  more  than  the  skirts 
of  the  train  of  the  divine  glory,  while  Jehovah 
passed  majestically  by  ! 


124  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Uncontrolled  power  frightens.  Unexhausted  stores  of  love. 

2.  Hence,  in  the  second  place,  you  can  mark 
here  the  comfort  and  the  confirmation  of  every 
true  believ'er  in  his  time  of  need. 

The  essential  notion  of  power  is  not  an  alto- 
gether welcome  or  agreeable  one  to  the  human 
soul — that  is,  power  outside  of  itself,  and  not  sub- 
ject to  its  own  control.  The  child  is  afraid  of  a 
panoplied  soldier  close  by,  even  before  it  has  any 
reason  to  apprehend  danger.  A  passing  train 
upon  a  track,  the  prodigious  stroke  of  an  engine- 
beam,  the  sharp  plunge  of  a  pile-driver,  chills 
even  a  self-possessed  bystander  into  discomfort. 
But  let  that  power  be  understood  to  be  controlled 
by  sagacity,  and  to  be  marshaled  in  our  own  in- 
terest, and  it  becomes  all  the  more  welcome  in 
proportion  to  its  resistless  force.  Its  very  strength 
renders  it  valuable  to  us. 

Hence,  omnipotence  is  a  most  acceptable  attri- 
bute in  the  estimation  of  any  established  child  of 
God.  The  more  resources  gathered  into  the  pro- 
tection his  Father  throws  over  him,  the  safer  his 
heart  knows  itself  to  be.  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who 
can  be  against  us?"  So  he  rests  in  perfect  tran- 
quillity. "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong 
tower  ;  the  righteous  runneth  into  it,  and  is  safe." 

Each  believer  lives  in  the  conscious  conviction 
that,  if  at  any  time  he  should  be  too  much  over- 
come, there  will  be  a  sudden  revealing  of  help 
from  the  unexhausted  stores  of  God's  love.  It 
has  always  arrested  the  wonder  of  the  world  to 
see  this  confidence.     A  dariny:  faith  moves  stead- 


THE   RESERVED   POWER   OF   GOD.  1 25 

No  help  seen.  Unseen  help  comes. 

ily  forward  into  uttermost  peril.  You  can  find 
sometimes  a  Christian  standing  out  alone  and 
aloof  from  other  men.  Villification  is  trying  to 
wound  him,  detraction  is  seeking  to  bring  him 
down.  Human  assistance  forsakes  his  cause. 
His  arms  hang  weary  at  his  side,  and  yet  he  will 
not  yield.  The  gibing  community  maligns  and 
misrepresents  him.  The  devil  plies  him  Avith  im- 
pudent temptation.  You  think  he  cannot  bear 
these  onsets.  You  imagine  you  see  signs  of  his 
wavering  now.  You  begin  to  whisper,  "  He  is  at 
his  wits'  end  already,  he  will  break  before  long  !" 

Not  so  :  he  will  hold  his  own.  "  Why,  how  ?" 
you  ask  ;  "no  conceivable  power  can  reach  him  !" 
Well,  perhaps  so  ;  but  inconceivable  power  can 
reach  him.  Unseen  help  will  be  disclosed  when 
he  needs  it.  If  the  hand  of  God  fails,  there  are 
horns  coming  out  of  the  hand. 

Watch  a  moment  longer,  and  you  v/ill  see  that 
mountain,  w^hich  now  appears  so  bleak  and  bare, 
full  of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire.  And  in  due 
time  that  weak  man  will  be  found  charging  on  his 
foes  in  all  the  majesty  of  success,  with  the  high 
legions  of  God's  host  for  his  defence  !  For  they 
that  be  for  him  are  more  than  they  that  be  against 
him.  All  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth  shall  be 
brought  into  the  stubborn' conflict,  before  one  of 
God's  children  shall  die. 

Let  this  thought  sink  deep  into  the  innermost 
heart  of  every  distressed  Christian.  You  fear 
trial  coming  ;  you  apprehend  it  may  be  too  severe 


126  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Power  enough  for  anything.  Giant  and  pigmy. 

for  you.  Cease  all  that  needless  alarm.  Moses 
will  divide  the  Red  Sea,  Joshua  will  pile  up  the 
Jordan  in  walls,  Elijah  will  wield  fire  from 
heaven,  Paul  will  take  the  ship  to  land.  If  the 
well-known  hand  of  God  cannot  do  this,  the  un- 
known horns  in  the  hand  will  do  it.  If  power 
fails,  the  hiding  of  power  will  supplement  it.  For 
God  is  on  the  side  of  his  people  ;  he  is  sure  to 
open  his  stores  of  xieliverance  when  the  stress 
arrives.  Only  remember  one  thing  :  "  i\.sk,  and 
ye  shall  receive."  You  will  find  yourself  reach- 
ing the  horns  that  come  out  of  the  hand,  only 
when  you  are  at  the  moment  sure  you  are  cling- 
ing to  the  horns  of  the  altar  ! 

3.  And,  finally,  you  see  here  the  utter  fruitless- 
ness  and  folly  of  any  rebellious  sinner's  further 
contending  with  God. 

Let  those  who  are  boldly  impenitent  still  re- 
member that  such  a  contest  is  between  forces  not 
at  all  equally  matched.  It  is  not  a  confronting  of 
power  with  power,  but  simply  of  a  will  with  limit- 
less force  with  a  will  it  keeps  in  being  while  it 
opposes  its  foolish  violence.  It  is  like  a  giant's 
fighting  a  pigmy  who  stands  up  in  his  hand  ;  he 
has  only  to  drop  him  to  end  the  derision.  Oh, 
my  friend,  you  will  certainly  go  down  soon  !  No 
hand  ever  lifted  here  against  God's  hand  has  been 
known  to  prosper.  He  proffers  amnesty  :  "  See 
that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.  For  if  they 
escaped  not  who  refused  him  that  spake  on  earth, 
much  more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  turn  away 


THE   RESERVED   POWER   OF   GOD.  12/ 

Contending  with  horses.  "  The  part  of  the  hand." 

from  him  that  speaketh  from  heaven  ;  whose 
voice  then  shook  the  earth  ;  but  now  he  hath 
promised,  saying,  Yet  once  more  I  shake  not  the 
earth  only,  but  also  heaven."  "  If  thou  hast  run 
with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied  thee, 
then  how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses  ?  and  if 
in  the  land  of  peace,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  they 
wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swell- 
ing of  Jordan  ?" 

Oh,  a  truce  to  this  old  wild  warfare  with  the 
omnipotent  God  !  Cease,  O  man,  whose  breath 
is  in  his  nostrils  !  This  power  in  exercise  seems 
appalling  enough  ;  but  what  will  be  the  energy  of 
the  omnipotence  yet  held  in  reserve  !  Belshazzar 
saw  on  the  walls  of  his  palace  only  "  the  part  of 
the  hand  which  wrote."  But  it  made  his  knees 
tremble.  What  must  have  been  the  Arm  and  the 
Form  behind  it  ! 


XL 

THE   "NUNC   DIMITTIS"   OF   SIMEON. 

"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in   peace, 

ACCORDING  TO  THY  WORD." — Lukc  2   :  29. 

This  recital  calls  us  back  to  a  scene  in  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem,  more  than  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  ago. 

The  transient  stay  in  the  village  of  Bethlehem 
was  over  ;  Joseph  and  Mary  had  taken  the  new- 
born child  up  to  the  sacred  city  in  order  to  present 
him  before  the  Lord.  They  stood  in  the  court 
outside  of  the  sanctuary.  Their  modest  gift  of 
two  turtle-doves  had  been  brought,  and  the  smoke 
of  the  offering  was  curling  aloft  from  the  altar. 
There  rises  to  our  view  a  picture  of  humble  devo- 
tion. 

Our  eyes  seem  to  behold  the  linen-robed  Levite, 
the  stalwart  form  of  the  Nazarene  carpenter,  and 
the  retiring  figure  of  his  modest  young  wife.  We 
see  the  Holy  Infant  lying  in  the  arms  of  its 
mother.  No  ring  of  light  is  around  her  head  ; 
no  luminous  effulgence  shines  from  the  child's 
face.  We  need  not  be  shocked  at  missing  abso- 
lutely from  this  scriptural  description  all  mention 
of  either  the  aureole  or  the  nimbus  of  artistic  tradi- 
tion.    The  group  are  just  human  and   real  like 


THE   "NUNC   DIMITTIS       OF   SIMEON.  I29 

Second  childhood  and  first.  A  new  chant  for  the  Church, 

ourselves,  quietly  waiting  until  their  proper  sacri- 
fice shall  have  been  accomplished  in  an  orderly 
way. 

At  this  interesting  moment  an  old  man  comes 
up  to  them.  His  bent  form  is  venerable  even  in 
its  feebleness.  He  takes  the  babe  in  his  own 
arms.  It  seems  singular  to  see  those  two  faces 
resting  so  closely  together.  Infancy  and  old  age 
are  met  ;  second  childhood  holds  first  childhood 
by  the  hand  while  it  sings  a  wonderful  song. 

There  is  something  more  than -mere  curiosity  in 
the  feeling  of  interest  with  which  we  watch  for 
the  words  we  expect  will  be  spoken  by  such  a 
man  as  this  Old  Testament  Christian  Simeon. 
Like  all  the  rest  of  those  whose  story  passes  be- 
fore us  in  this  record,  he  casts  his  language  into 
poetry,  and  utters  a  chant  that  the  church  has  in 
all  ages  loved,  and  to  which  it  has  given  its  Latin 
name  from  the  opening  words,  ''Nimc  dimittis" — 
"  Now  thou  lettest  depart." 

I,  The  first  thing  that  strikes  our  notice  here  is 
the  shigular  illustration  offered  of  the  paradox  of 
Christian  life.  How  extraordinary  is  the  disparity 
between  these  two  persons,  and  yet  how  abso- 
lutely the  one  seems  to  rest  in  the  other  !  Jesus 
lies  safelv  in  Simeon's  arms  ;  Simeon  reposes  his 
life  for  all  the  untold  future  in  Jesus'  Messiahship, 
Imagine  the  contrasts  :  the  many  long  years  of 
the  man — the  brief  entry  upon  life  of  the  infant  ; 
the  established  reputation  of  the  inspired  singer — 
the   low   peasant   history    of   the    Galilean   babe. 


I30  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Faith  in  a  mere  infant.  The  "  Everlasting  Father." 

And  still  this  puny  weakness  is  accepted  im- 
plicitly by  this  mature  strength.  The  contradic- 
tions and  reversals  of  ordinary  estimates  are  be- 
wildering, as  we  attempt  to  measure  and  to  match 
them.  Yet  "  without  all  contradiction  the  less  is 
blessed  of  the  better."  Simeon's  soul  is  held  up 
forever  by  the  little  child  whose  body  he  now 
holds  in  his  hands  ! 

We  could  not  deal  with  this  incident  profitably 
if  we  had  not  in  Christian  history  become  some- 
what accustomed  to  the  wonderiul  paradoxes  of 
believers'  experience  in  Christ.  "  When  I  am 
weak,  then  am  I  strong."  The  words  of  the 
ancient  father  in  the  church,  Tertullian,  are  sug- 
gestive :  "  The  Son  of  God  was  born,"  says  he  ; 
"  and  that  awakes  no  shame  precisely  because  it 
is  so  shameful  ;  the  Son  of  God  died  ;  that  is 
thoroughly  credible,  because  it  is  absurd  ;  the 
Son  of  God  was  buried  and  rose  again  ;  that  is 
certain  because  it  is  impossible."  For  what  else 
could  we  expect,  when  we  read  in  Isaiah's  proph- 
ecy that  this  child  was  the  everlasting  Father  ? 
We  can  explain  nothing  in  this  strange  scene 
without  considering  that  Jesus  was  the  true  Mes- 
siah, and  the  Messiah  was  the  incarnate  God. 

II.  So  this  presents  another  lesson  :  here  is  a 
satisfactory  style  of  piety  for  an  unzvavering  depend- 
ence. There  are  faiths  and  religions,  there  are 
rituals  and  creeds,  there  are  persuasions  and  ex- 
periences, enough  almost  to  fill  the  world.  Only 
some  of  them  do  not  meet  the  end  for  which  they 


THE   "NUNC   DIMITTIS       OF   SIMEON.  131 

Managing  a  candle.  Felix  Neff's  remark. 

have  been  commended.  "  The  candle  of  the 
wicked  shall  be  put  out,"  and  the  candle  of  the 
righteous,  too,  if  it  be  an  uncertain  and  untrust- 
worthy sort  of  candle.  Now,  let  us  remember 
that  it  is  no  time  to  judge  of  a  candle  in  the  calm 
inclosure  of  a  still  room  ;  let  it  be  taken  out  some- 
time into  the  violence  of  the  wind.  Many  a  man 
has  what  he  calls  his  religion  ;  and  it  does  very 
well  when  shielded  and  sheltered,  but  it  goes  out 
ignobly  in  darkness  and  betrayal  under  the  wild 
rush  of  discipline,  or  the  hurricane  gusts  of  tem- 
pestuous passion. 

It  is  evident  that  here  in  Simeon's  case  we  find 
a  perfectly  settled  rest  for  any  human  soul.  His 
full  content  with  it  is  edifying  and  unmistakable. 
We  are  told  he  had  been  "  waiting  for  the  conso- 
lation of  Israel."  It  was  "  revealed  unto  him  that 
he  should  not  see  death  before  he  had  seen  the 
Lord's  Christ."  Hence,  the  moment  he  holds  the 
infant  Redeemer  in  his  arms,  he  exclaims,  "  My 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  He  was  willing 
to  take  his  eternal  life  on  Christ's  own  terms,  and 
so  he  was  perfectly  satisfied.  It  mattered  noth- 
ing to  him  that  he  was  an  old  man,  and  this  was  a 
babe  ;  nor  that  he  was  a  wise  man,  and  this  was 
only  a  peasant  infant  forty  days  old  ;  he  expressed 
his  entire  contentment  with  the  plan  infinite  wis- 
dom had  devised  for  human  reliance. 

Men  may  as  well  start  with  this  ;  they  must  be- 
gin by  accepting  terms  already  made,  and  cease 
trying  to  make  new  ones.     Felix  Neff  once  told 


132  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  religion  worth  having.  The  purpose  of  the  Gospel. 

even  a  minister  this  :  "  There  is  much  truth  in 
your  sermon,  but  it  lacks  one  important  thin_2:  : 
you  still  wish  men  to  go  to  Jesus  with  lace  sleeves, 
instead  of  going  to  him  in  rags  as  the}'  are." 

It  seems  best  to  kindle  our  imagination  all  it 
will  bear,  so  as  to  picture  the  attitude  and  action 
of  this  old  Jerusalem  Christian  vividly.  Simeon 
takes  that  child  in  his  arms,  asking  no  questions 
whatever.  He  is  happy  enough  to  get  Mary's 
infant  near  his  heart  ;  just  to  look  down  fondly 
upon  its  forehead  with  an  unspeakable  awe  and  a 
reverent  affection.  The  wise  old  patriarch  held 
his  divine  Teacher  in  his  tremulous  embrace  ;  his 
immortal  destiny  was  in  a  Redeemer  whose  small 
body  he  held  poised  upon  the  fingers  of  his  hand. 
Could  he  go  now  and  lay  his  gray  hair  in  the 
grave,  and  trust  this  mere  infant  to  work  out  for 
him  a  sure  resurrection  ? 

Here,  then,  is  a  religion  actually  worth  the 
having.  For  behold,  in  one  flash  of  vast  disclo- 
sure, the  very  summit  of  his  devotion.  He  says 
he  is  satisfied  to  go  now,  ready  to  depart.  Nay, 
more  ;  he  does  depart  from  history  on  the  instant. 
The  last  sight  we  ever  see  of  this  venerable  be- 
liever is  here.  No  record  is  rendered  further, 
how  he  lived,  or  when  he  died. 

III.  So  again  :  we  find  here  an  intelligent  and 
exemplary  appreciation  of  tlie  exact  purpose  of  the 
gospel.  It  will  be  well  to  put  alongside  of  this 
song  Simeon's  prophecy,  which  comes  just  after 
it.     This  good  old   man  tells  that  young  mother 


THE   "NUNC   DIMITTIS       OF   SIMEON.  I33 


John  Berridge's  robe.  The  Ancient  Hymn. 

precisely  what  her  child  was  "set"  for,  Christ 
was  appointed  to  prostrate  men  from  self-depend- 
ence, and  raise  them  again  into  full  union  with 
himself.  His  heart  would  be  pierced  in  suffering, 
an  J  so  would  Mary's,  before  the  history  should 
be  finished.  But  Christ's  sufferings  would  work 
out  an  atonement  by  which  sinners  might  be 
saved.  Here  comes  in  the  old  figure  of  a  robe,  a 
removal  and  a  substitution  of  garments  ;  men  are 
clothed  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 

"  Oh,  I  want  the  fountain  of  Jesus'  blood  every 
day,"  once  wrote  pious  John  Berridge  ;  "  his  in- 
tercession every  moment  ;  and  I  would  not  give 
a  groat  for  the  broadest  fig-leaves  to  cover  me  ! 
A  robe  I  must  have,  of  one  whole  piece,  broad  as 
the  law,  spotless  as  the  light,  and  richer  than  an 
angel  ever  wore— the  robe  of  Jesus  himself.  And 
when  the  Elder  Brother's  raiment  is  put  on  me, 
good  Isaac  will  receive  and  bless  for  its  sake  the 
lying  varlet  Jacob." 

It  is  because  of  this  feature  in  Simeon's  testi- 
mony to  Jesus  that  the  churches  at  large  have  for 
so  many  centuries  accepted  it  as  the  part  of  the 
service  most  frequent  and  familiar.  The  evangeli- 
cal recognition  of  the  atonement  is  what  gives  it 
its  value.  It  is  because  he  has  seen  a  salvation 
prepared  "  before  the  face  of  all  people,"  that 
this  old  man  says  he  is  satisfied. 

The  ancient  Evening  Hymn,  to  which  the  name 
of  the  Ninic  Diinittis  has  been  given,  appears  thus 
in  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  : 


134  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Note  variations  of  phraselogy.  A  lesson  of  trust. 

"  Praise,  ye  servants,  the  Lord  ; 

Praise  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
We  praise  thee,  we  sing  hymns  to  thee,  we  bless  thee 

For  thy  great  glory. 
O  Lord,  King,  the  Father  of  the  Christ,  the  spotless  Lamb 

Who  teketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world, 
Thee  becomelh  praise,  thee  becometh  hymn,  thee  glory  becometh, 
The  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
Forever  and  ever.     Amen. 


"  Now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart,  O  Lord, 
According  to  thy  word,  in  peace  ; 
For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 

Which  thou  didst  prepare  against  the  face  of  all  the  peoples, 
A  light  unto  revelation  of  Gentiles  and  glory  of   thy  people 
Israel." 

Some  few  variations  in  the  phraseology  of  this 
translation  are  noticeable  ;  but,  like  the  Gloria  in 
Excchis,  which  serves  as  a  Morning  Hymn  in 
many  of  the  ancient  liturgies,  it  introduces  that 
significant  and  pathetic  phrase  concerning  the 
"  Lamb  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
Here  stands  the  unalterable  witness  of  the  ages 
that  there  can  be  salvation  only  through  the  merit 
of  a  sacrificial  atonement  for  sin.  And  that  was 
the  end  for  which  the  Redeemer  died. 

IV.  In  the  fourth  place,  we  have  here  a  lesson 
of  trust  for  New  Testanicnt  Christians  from  an  Old 
Testament  believer.  It  is  a  pity  that  scriptural 
biography  is  at  times  so  poorly  appreciated. 
Some  of  us  are  willing  to  compliment  the  faith, 
courage,  or  grace  of  the  good  that  are  gone  ;  and 
yet  we  do  not  appear  to  be  much  influenced  by  it. 


THE   "NUNC   DIMITTIS"   OF   SIMEON.  I35 

Praise  and  imitation.  A  little  peasant  babe  ! 

Plutarch  once  said  that  Demosthenes  was  excel- 
lent in  praising  the  acts  of  his  ancestors,  but  not 
so  good  at  imitating  them.  Such  inconsistency 
did  not  die  with  the  Greek  orator,  or  exhaust 
itself  among  the  classic  heathen  ;  it  may  be  wit- 
nessed near  by. 

There  are  so-called  Christians  who  commend 
Job's  patience,  and  then  fly  into  a  passion  ;  who 
admire  David's  dumbness  under  affliction,  and 
then  speak  out  fiercely  in  rebellion  ;  who  instance 
Eli's  resignation,  while  they  clamor  with  impa- 
tience under  far  less  calamities.  And  it  may  be 
feared  to-day  that  some  will  be  found  to  admire 
the  sweet,  serene  confidence  of  Simeon,  without 
at  all  being  disposed  to  accept  for  once  and  for- 
ever the  Saviour  he  trusted. 

Picture  just  that  instant  in  which  this  old  man 
stands  gazing  down  upon  the  face  of  the  infant  for 
the  first  time.  Was  this  all  to  which  mighty  gen- 
erations had  been  looking  during  those  thousands 
of  years  that  were  gone  ?  Was  it  just  this  weak 
little  peasant  babe  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob 
had  seen  afar  off,  and  been  glad  to  see  ?  Was  he 
what  the  ancient  prophets  had  descried  in  the  dis- 
tance, as  they  stood  peering  off  from  the  watch- 
towers  of  a  militant  Zion,  the  flashing  seer-light 
in  their  eyes  as  they  sang  ?  Was  this  the  King, 
whom  King  David  had  so  celebrated  in  his 
psalms  ?  Alas  for  the  poor  show  the  new  Mon- 
arch now  made  !     Yet  Simeon  accepts  him  ! 

Just  rernember  that  it  was  everything  or  noth- 


136  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Everything  or  nothing.  John  Quincy  Adams. 


ing  to  this  old  man  to  make  his  decision.  No 
half-way  allegiance  would  do.  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah  or  nothing.  Surrender  to  him  would 
carry  time  and  eternity  with  it,  and  he  surren- 
dered. Christ  is  always  to  every  human  being 
just  everything  or  nothing.  It  is  useless  to  seek 
even  the  slightest  compromise  ;  it  is  sober  busi- 
ness to  rest  wholly  in  him. 

V.  So  we  reach  our  last  lesson  :  here  is  a  beau- 
tiful pict2ire  of  readiness  for  death.  We  must  note 
the  language  carefully.  Simeon  does  not  use  a 
prayer  in  the  Nunc  Dimittis  ;  he  only  makes  a 
declaration.  He  does  not  say — now  let  me  de- 
part ;  he  says — now  thou  dost  let  me  depart.  We 
feel  certain  that  this  man  had  been  waiting  a  good 
while.  Such  unusual  preparedness  for  departure 
was  the  gradual  growth  of  years.  It  was  no  sud- 
den explosion  of  experience,  but  must  have  had 
its  increments  of  spiritual  increase  as  many  and  as 
various  as  the  rings  of  fibre  in  the  trunk  of  a 
palm-tree. 

Of  one  of  the  fathers  of  this  republic,  an  "  old 
man  eloquent,"  it  was  once  written  in  a  verse  of 
genial  poetry  : 

"  His  brow  December,  and  his  bosom  May — 

So  should  our  hearts  be,  when  our  heads  are  gray." 

There  is  an  old  age  full  of  querulous  complaint 
and  peevishness,  under  every  on-coming  of  in- 
firmity. It  wears  itself  out  in  discontent  ;  it  often 
vanishes  at  the  last,  and   makes  no  sign.     On  the 


THE   ''NUNC   DIMITTIS"   OF   SIMEON.  I37 

Dean  Alford's  epitaph.  The  martyr  Ridley. 

other  hand,  there  is  an  old  age  Kke  this  of  the 
illustrious  Simeon  in  our  lesson.  The  soul  has 
leaned  its  all  on  God,  and  is  perfectly  satisfied  be- 
cause it  knows  it  is  perfectly  safe.  So  George 
Herbert  sings  : 

"  What  have  I  left  that  I  should  stay  and  groan  ? 
The  most  of  me  to  heaven  has  fled  ; 
My  thoughts  and  joys  are  all  packed  up  and  gone  ; 
And  for  their  old  acquaintance  plead." 

Not  even  severe  trial  can  alter  the  permanence 
of  such  trust.  For  heaven  seems  the  only  true 
thing  in  the  universe,  and  death  is  nothing  but  a 
kind  of  rough  way  of  going  to  it.  Remember  the 
beautiful  inscription  upon  Dean  Alford's  tomb- 
stone ;  how  it  describes  a  grave  :  "  The  inn  of  a 
traveler  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  !" 

"  Charles,  our  people  die  well  !"  said  John  Wes- 
ley to  his  brother.  Why  is  not  that  a  proper  test  ? 
We  take  death-bed  words  without  an  oath  in  a 
court  of  justice  ;  a  man  is  honest,  if  ever,  in  the 
moment  when  the  great  shadow  is  coming.  Think 
of  the  martyr  Ridley,  the  night  before  he  was 
burned  alive  at  the  stake.  One  of  his  pitiful 
friends  offered  to  sit  up  with  him  in  the  prison. 
"  Oh,  no  !"  said  the  good  man,  "  what  would  you 
do  with  3^ourself  ?  I  mean  to  go  to  bed,  and  sleep 
as  quietly  as  ever  I  did  in  my  life.  My  breakfast 
to-morrow  will  be  sharp  and  painful  ;  but  1  am 
sure  my  supper  will  be  right  pleasant  and  sweet  !" 

Here,  then,  is  that   which   removes  all  fear  of 


138  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Bondage  to  death.  "Change — oh,  wondrous  change  !" 

death  from  the  mind  of  those  who  may  have  been 
all  their  lives  subject  to  bondage.  Nothing  fright- 
ful is  left  in  it.  It  is  onl}^  a  transition,  and  salva- 
tion is  beyond.  Our  fears  of  what  is  before  us  in 
the  experience  of  death  are  intensified  by  our 
ignorance  and  our  guilt.  We  count  ever)^  un- 
known prospect  as  alarming,  and  we  dread  some 
possible  arraignment  of  divine  justice  the  moment 
we  pass  the  veil.  But  when  we  find  that  "  salva- 
tion" has  come  to  lighten  human  souls,  the  future 
loses  its  hideous  aspects.  We  rest  in  God,  and  a 
little  child  becomes  our  everlasting  dependence. 
We  are  willing  to  go  out  of  history,  as  a  guest 
leaves  a  banquet ;  not  despising  the  feast,  but 
contented  to  move  away  from  it,  because  all  his 
hunger  is  satisfied.  Hence,  the  mere  act  of  death 
counts  thereafter  as  nothing  ;  Christ  is  beyond, 
and  heaven  is  home.  Perhaps  one  swift  pang — 
then  all  is  rest  and  peace  forever. 

"  Oh,  change— oh,  wondrous  change  ! 

Burst  are  the  prison  bars  ; 
This  moment  there — so  low 
In  mortal  prayer — and  now 

Beyond  the  stars  ! 
Oh,  change — stupendous  change  ! 

There  lies  the  senseless  clod  ; 
The  soul  from  bondage  breaks, 
The  new  immortal  wakes — 

Awakes  with  God  !" 


XII. 
RESTING   IN   THE   LORD. 

"  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord  hath 

DEALT  BOUNTIFULLY  WITH  THEE." — Psalm  Il6   :   7. 

The  very  first  thought  which  arrests  our  minds 
in  considering  a  verse  like  this  is  concerning  its 
welcomeness.  There  is  a  confessed  need  in  hu- 
man history  and  hfe  of  some  element  to  tranquil- 
lize it.  These  restless  confusions  around  us  must 
be  calmed  into  composure.  The  world  is  at  pres- 
ent in  a  lapsed  and  secondary  state.  It  was 
once  beautiful  and  serene.  Sin  found  its  way  in 
through  the  crevice  of  free-will.  Then  all  the 
race  felt  the  retribution.  Even  the  inanimate 
globe  was  cursed  by  the  fiat  of  the  Almighty.  A 
wild  erratic  force  has,  ever  since  that,  heaved  the 
primal  strata  into  rugged  ridges,  and  made  vol- 
canic rents  of  ruin. 

We  are  all  conscious  of  this  unrest.  We  wake 
every  morning  with  a  kind  of  vague  misgiving  in 
our  anticipation.  Something  will  be  sure  to  hap- 
pen before  nightfall  to  shatter  a  hope  or  defeat  a 
purpose.  We  wonder  that  things  move  on  so 
perversely.  And  when  real  trouble  falls,  nobody 
seems  to  care  anything  for  the  catastrophe. 
Mourners  frequently  remark  how  incongruously 


I40  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Robert  Burns's  song.  N.  P.  Willis's  poem. 

brilliant  seems  the  sunshine  on  the  day  of  the 
funeral.  Nature  is  vexatiouslj  unsympathetic. 
You  remember  how  the  Scottish  bard  complained 
in  his  pathetic  song  that  the  "  banks  and  braes" 
of  the  bonny  river  he  loved  could  "  bloom  so 
fresh  and  fair,"  while  his  own  heavy  heart  re- 
mained "  so  weary,  full  of  care."  We  feel  quite 
sure  that  all  this  disturbance  is  unnecessary  and 
unnatural. 

"  How  strikingly  the  course  of  nature  tells. 
By  its  light  heed  of  human  suffering, 
That  man  was  fashioned  for  a  happier  world." 

But  dull  as  the  course  of  nature  is  to  all  else, 
there  can  be  no  possible  doubting  its  supreme 
sensitivity  to  sin.  The  rocks  rended  and  the 
ground  opened  when  that  awful  ignominy  of  the 
cross  on  which  was  crucified  the  Son  of  God 
shocked  the  universe.  All  the  world  is  suspicious 
of  wickedness.  The  one  mighty  disturbing  ele- 
ment in  the  wide  creation  is  found  in  the  setting 
of  a  will  against  the  divine  will.  It  is  the  swing 
of  a  loose  chain,  and,  bereft  of  the  anchor  it  car- 
ried, dashing  in  the  sides  of  the  vessel  it  was  in- 
tended to  protect.  The  moment  justice  is  defied 
and  law  broken  there  will  certainly  come  violence 
and  vibration. 

What  we  want,  then,  most  of  all,  is  some  inter- 
position from  on  high  to  arrest  the  rocking  and 
hold  us  firm  to  an  equipoise.  We  cannot  sustain 
ourselves,  much  less  each  other.     Our  help  must 


RESTING   IN   THE   LORD.  I41 

Centre  of  a  solid  wheel.  God's  moveless  throne. 

be  given  from  without.  And  earliest  of  all,  there 
will  have  to  be  disclosed  some  centre  of  refer- 
ence, some  steady  standard  of  strength,  security, 
and  repose. 

Scientific  men  tell  us  that  in  the  exact  middle  of 
every  solid  wheel,  no  matter  how  rapidly  it  whirls 
on  its  axis,  there  is  one  slender  line  of  iron,  one 
little  needle  of  particles  which  really  never  moves 
at  all.  You  can  easily  see  this  must  be  so.  The 
atoms  on  the  outer  rim  of  the  circumference  swing 
swiftly  around  in  their  career.  Those  lying  next 
circle  more  slowly.  And  hence  there  must  be 
reached  finally  one  filament  of  finest  metal  fibre 
running  from  end  to  end  of  the  arbor,  which  rests 
positively  still,  while  every  other  atom  revolves 
around  it.  This  very  conception  gives  the  im- 
agination a  marvelous  sense  of  peace.  It  calms 
one's  mind  to  think  of  it  ;  it  rests  one's  sensibili- 
ties, like  the  pause  of  a  long  breath. 

Here  catch  at  least  a  figure.  In  this  intricate, 
complicated,  and  uneasy  world  there  certainly  is 
one  central  spot  of  serene  repose.  The  moveless 
throne  of  God  stands  undisturbed  in  the  white 
light  that  falls  over  it.  And  in  it  sits  the  ineffable 
majesty  of  that  Wisdom  which  planned  and  that 
Power  which  executed  all  the  decrees  of  human 
existence  clear  back  to  the  far  beginning.  To 
that  all  our  unrest  bears  reference  ;  to  that  all  our 
rest  bears  relation,  fixed  and  absolute  :  "  Thy 
throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and  ever." 

Of  course,   therefore,   we  understand  that  the 


142  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Condition  of  obtaining  rest.  The  hand  held. 

condition  of  any  sort  of  rest  or  peace  for  a  human 
soul  is  as  simple  as  it  is  clear.  That  soul  must  in 
some  IV ay  get  baek  to  God.  It  must  settle  its  inter- 
nal discords  by  an  external  and  overmastering 
harmony  of  obedience.  It  must  counteract  its  sin 
with  an  atonement.  The  will  wdiich  acts  as  pilot 
must  out-sing  the  sirens  with  a  new  song  of  its 
own.  The  old  balance  of  adjustment  must  be 
restored  with  fresh  self-renunciation. 

Just  there  our  Maker  has  met  us  with  his  plan. 
His  own  announcement  is  this,  ' '  The  work  of  right- 
eousness shall  be  peace,  and  the  effect  of  righteous- 
7iess,  quietness,  and  assurance  forever."  The 
heart  surrenders  its  rebellion,  and  comes  back,  as 
a  wandering  star  from  the  blackness  of  darkness 
is  restored  to  the  sun.  For,  in  the  moment  of 
pardon,  God's  parentage  is  disclosed  also.  We 
look  up  into  the  face  of  our  Maker  and  discover 
he  is  our  Father.  So  a  serene  confidence  settles 
into  our  minds.  We  grow  perfectly  sure  that 
whatever  happens  will  be  all  right  in  the  end  ; 
nay,  is  all  right  now,  if  we  could  only  see  the 
whole  of  it.  Very  brief  is  the  conversation  which 
passes  in  this  supreme  act  of  reconciliation.  God 
says  but  one  thing,  and  then  we  say  one.  He 
says  :  "  I,  the  Lord,  have  called  thee  in  right- 
eousness, and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will  keep 
thee."  And  then  we  say  :  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him 
in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee, 
because  he  trusteth  in  thee." 

Then  instantly  enters  the  experience  of  satisfac- 


RESTING   IN   THE   LORD.  I43 

Everything  left  with  God.  The  woman  of  Tekoa. 

tion  and  relief.  No  possible  repose  can  ever  have 
been  enjoyed  like  that  which  now  the  true  believer 
feels  when  he  accepts,  in  all  its  mighty  fulness  of 
meaning,  that  simple  declaration  of  the  Divine 
Master  :  "  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,  go  in 
peace."  Infinite  benevolence  and  grace  have  as- 
sumed all  the  responsibility  of  reheving  and  man- 
aging human  need.  Calmly  one  leaves  his  lot  in 
the  hands  of  him  who  is  perfectly  equal  to  the  task 
of  ordering  it  wisely  and  well.  He  settles  back 
like  one  delivered  from  long  anxiety  and  pain, 
saying  to  himself  :  "  What  time  I  am  afraid,  I  will 
put  my  trust  in  thee.  I  will  both  lay  me  down  in 
peace  and  sleep,  for  thou,  Lord,  only  makest  me 
dwell  in  safet3^" 

Still  no  generous  soul  will  permit  the  medita- 
tion to  end  here.  We  must  bear  in  mind  whence 
all  the  favor  comes.  No  man  has  a  right  to  say, 
"  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,"  without  add- 
ing, in  grateful  ascription,  "for  the  Lord  hath 
dealt  bountifully  with  thee."  Most  Scripture 
readers  recollect  that  King  David,  righteously  in- 
censed by  the  rebellion  of  Absalom,  punished  his 
recreant  son  with  exclusion  from  his  presence  for 
a  period  of  years.  Yet  not  everybody  seems  to 
remember  the  shrewd  argument  employed  to  in- 
fluence his  clemency  by  the  woman  of  Tekoa. 
She  only  quoted  the  divine  example  ;  but  her 
words  sound  like  a  gospel  sermon  preached  in  the 
Old  Testament  time.  She  wanted  the  monarch 
to  bring  back  Absalom  to  the  palace,  and  this  is 


144  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

God  bringing  back  his  "  banished."  The  sinking  Peter. 

what  she  said  :  "  The  king  doth  speak  this  thing 
as  one  which  is  faulty,  in  that  the  king  doth  not 
fetch  home  again  his  banished.  For  we  must 
needs  die,  and  are  as  water  spilt  on  the  ground 
which  cannot  be  gathered  up  again  ;  neither 
doth  God  respect  an}^  person,  yet  doth  he  devise 
means  that  his  banislied  be  not  expelled  from 
him. 

Oh,  the  amazing  freeness,  the  inexhaustible  ful- 
ness of  the  mercy  of  God  !  He  has  devised  means 
so  that  none  of  us  banished  ones  be  expelled  from 
him.  What  we  could  not  at  all  do  for  ourselves, 
he  has  done  freely  for  us.  "  He  hath  dealt  boun- 
tifully" with  every  soul.  Just  here,  with  every 
reach  and  reference,  the  Bible  shows  itself  as  our 
truest  friend.  It  keeps  reminding  us  that  we  owe 
everything  to  God.  It  is  a  treasury  of  inspired 
encouragement  and  warning.  It  meets  us  often- 
times, as  Jesus  did  the  sinking  Peter,  with  a  rebuke 
and  a  relief  in  the  same  breath.  It  says,  "  O  thou 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  !"  and 
then  offers  the  divine  hand  for  dehverance.  One 
wdio  reads  this  blessed  volume  for  the  first  time 
will  surely  be  arrested  with  the  conviction  that  it 
must  have  been  written  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  for  a  race  of  weak  and  suffering  creatures. 
The  promises  of  help,  and  comfort,  and  peace, 
and  rest  are  so  many  in  number,  and  so  tenderly 
sympathetic  in  temper,  that  we  read  at  once  our 
limitless  need  and  God's  measureless  grace.  We 
ought  to  include  the  Bible  also  whenever  we  say, 


RESTING   IN   THE   LORD.  I45 

What  practical  purpose  ?  Danger  of  sinning. 

"  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord 
hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee  !" 

It  seems  better  for  a  moment  now  to  gather  up 
the  threads  of  discourse,  in  order  that  we  may  see 
just  whereabouts  we  are.  We  have  considered 
the  necessity  of  periods  of  rest  in  an  excited  and 
troubled  world  like  ours,  the  condition  of  its  re- 
ception, and  the  temper  in  which  it  should  be  en- 
joyed. There  remains  only  for  our  further  notice 
the  value  there  is  to  be  found  in  it.  The  question 
is  :  To  what  practical  purpose  may  this  text  of 
ours  be  put  ? 

Just  two  dangers  there  seem  to  be  into  which 
any  child  of  God  may  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously run — that  is,  if  he  gets  rash  or  precipitate 
under  pressure  of  his  perplexities,  or  if  he  be- 
comes impetuous  or  impatient  in  feeling.  These 
are  sinnmg  and  sinking.  He  may  go  too  far,  and 
he  may  not  go  far  enough.  In  the  one  case,  he 
will  behave  presumptuously  ;  in  the  other  case, 
he  will  continue  anxious,  and  perhaps  will  doubt. 
The  remedy  proffered  here  is  precisely  the  same. 

I.  God  will  be  sure  to  keep  his  people  from 
sinniiig,  if  they  will  only  return  unto  their  rest. 

The  soul  of  even  the  best  believer  may  some- 
times be  worried  into  rashness.  Embarrassed  by 
even  the  common  events  of  life,  many  a  man  re- 
sorts to  uncalled-for  and  unlawful  means  of  extri- 
cation. Whereas  the  special  rule  of  the  divine 
government  is  this  :  "  He  that  belie veth  shall  not 
make  haste."     Out  of  this  impetuosity  naturally 


146  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Presumptuous  demand.  Cannon  on  merchantmen. 

results  transgression.  The  true  barrier  of  faith  is 
overleaped.  The  Christian  rushes  into  presump- 
tuous demand.  He  clamors  for  some  new  and 
extraordinary  interposition  of  Providence.  He 
insists  that  relief  shall  be  sent  in  his  own  form. 
That  is  to  say,  he  exhausts  in  one  wild  sweep  his 
entire  inventory  of  resources,  and  then  prays  for 
rhore. 

It  is  true  that  the  Bible  contains  some  most 
wonderful  engagements  covenanted  by  our  heav- 
enly Father.  The  soul  has  magnificent  promises 
laid  up  in  solemn  carefulness  for  its  most  awful 
experiences  and  its  severest  needs.  But  these 
are  not  to  be  dragged  into  frantic  service  on  the 
first  alarm.  They  resemble  those  pieces  of  heavy 
ordnance  with  which  merchantmen  are  sometimes 
equipped,  that  they  may  defend  themselves  from 
cruisers.  Any  soul,  which  is  so  anxiously  and 
evermore  on  the  alert  to  keep  its  rest,  will  find 
that  it  is  just  its  own  extravagant  efforts  which  are 
breaking  its  rest.  Just  as  if  the  solicitous  and 
timid  officers  of  the  ship  should  keep  the  men 
wheeling  out  the  cannon,  and  exploding  them  all 
along  the  voyage.  Anybody  can  see  that  the  dis- 
turbance would  be  owing,  not  to  pirates,  but  to 
the  noisy  and  reckless  discharges  of  reserved  de- 
fences. The  great  war-promises  of  God  need  not 
be  quoted  in  hours  of  mere  meditative  peace.  No 
soul  can  rest  that  is  so  awfully  careful  to  guard  its 
rest.  We  are  to  settle  reposefully  back  on  the 
common  covenant,  and  remain  quiet. 


RESTING   IN   THE   LORD.  I47 

Zadok  and  the  ark.  Danger  of  sinking. 

We  are  sometimes  set  to  wait  on  God  ;  and 
sometimes  told  just  to  wait  for  him.  When  we 
are  hedged  all  about  with  difficulties,  a  tranquil 
reliance  upon  divine  help  will  be  of  essential  ser- 
vice in  holding  us  back  from  overstepping  legiti- 
mate limits.  You  will  remember  that  when  David 
was  lonely  and  desolate  out  upon  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  looking  down  over  his  lost  capital,  he  per- 
ceived a  train  of  Levites  coming  out  of  the  eastern 
gate  with  some  heavy  load  upon  their  shoulders. 
As  they  drew  nearer,  he  discovered  that  the  priest 
Zadok,  still  loyal  to  his  king,  had  conceived  the 
bold  design  of  removing  the  ark  of  the  covenant 
bodily  from  the  temple,  and  taking  it  along  with 
the  fugitive  royalists  into  exile.  But  no  exigency 
seemed  trying  enough  to  the  sovereign  to  apolo- 
gize for  so  extraordinary  a  maneuver.  So  he 
checked  his  adherents  with  the  memorable  words  : 
"  Carry  back  the  ark  of  God  into  the  city  ;  if  I 
shall  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  he  will 
bring  me  again,  and  show  me  both  it  and  his  hab- 
itation ;  but  if  he  thus  say,  I  have  no  dehght  in 
thee  ;  behold,  here  am  I,  let  him  do  to  me  as 
seemeth  good  unto  him."  He  was  willing  to  rest 
in  God's  love  already  pledged  to  him. 

2.  Furthermore,  God  will  keep  his  people  from 
sinking,  as  well  as  from  sinning,  if  they  will  only 
fasten  their  faith  upon  his  promises. 

One  moment  more  of  unfaltering  confidence 
would  have  planted  Simon  Peter,  as  he  walked  on 
the  water,  close  at  the  side  of  Jesus.     Merely  be- 


148  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Easy  frames  of  feeling.  Napoleon  carried  bodily, 

cause  he  grew  suddenly  self-conscious,  he  wa- 
vered more  than  the  Avaves.  He  began  to  sink 
ignominiously  for  no  other  reason  than  because  he 
thought  he  should.  No  one  will  ever  know,  until 
he  reads  his  whole  biography  from  the  heavenly 
volumes,  how  many  fine  historic  moments  he  has 
missed,  just  through  lack  of  steadiness  in  the 
supreme  pressure.  He  has  failed  merely  through 
the  fitfulness  of  his  easy  frames  of  feeling.  He 
might  have  held  on  an  instant  longer,  and  been 
safe. 

There  is  one  most  beautiful  engagement  of  help 
announced  in  the  Scriptures,  couched  in  a  figure  of 
even  more  significant  aptness  than  usual  :  "  The 
eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  iindcrncatJi  are  the 
everlastitig  arms. ' '  You  cannot  have  forgotten  that 
most  interesting  incident  in  secular  history,  re- 
corded of  the  French  campaign  in  Russia.  On  the 
melancholy  retreat  from  Moscow,  the  emperor  was 
informed  that  the  road  his  army  must  take  had  to 
pass  through  a  defile  lined  on  cither  side  with  the 
heaviest  artillery.  At  once  six  of  his  bravest  sol- 
diers crowded  around  his  beloved  person,  and 
took  him  bodily  off  his  feet,  carrying  him  quite 
through  the  dangerous  ravine.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment the  band  struck  up  the  fine  melody  of  the 
song,  "  Calm  in  the  bosom  of  his  family."  Human, 
onl}'  human  hands,  therefore,  can  do  much  ;  what 
think  you  of  the  divine  ?  How  sweet  seems  the 
little  verse  we  sing,  to  quf)tc  as  a  motto,  and  hold 
as  an  ejaculation  of  praj'er  : 


RESTING   IN   THE   LORD.  149 


•'  First  pure,  then  peaceable."  Faith  and  courage. 

"  Let  me  hear  thy  voice  behind  me,  calming  all  these  wild  alarms  ; 
Let  me,  underneath  my  weakness,  feel  the  everlasting  arms  !" 

Surely,  dear  Christian  friends,  we  must  see  by 
this  time  that  the  habit  of  resting  in  God  is  more 
than  a  mere  privilege  ;  it  is  one  of  the  highest  of 
our  duties.  Fretting  is  ruinous  to  grace,  as  well 
as  to  gracefulness.  We  are  bound  to  cultivate  the 
patience  of  waiting.  It  is  harder,  to  be  sure,  some- 
times to  stand  and  do  nothing,  than  to  charge  and 
do  much.  Just  to  hold  our  own  in  the  midst  of 
difficulties,  and  put  forth  no  effort  at  personal 
release,  is  a  better  test  of  obedience  than  valiantly 
to  challenge  a  giant.  We  are  to  blame  for 
much  of  our  chronic  disquiet  and  perturbation. 
Any  anxiety  on  our  part  is  a  certain  proof  of  some 
want  of  purity  or  of  some  want  of  faith.  "  First 
pure,  then  peaceable." 

There  is  no  effeminacy  in  a  temper  of  perfect 
repose,  when  the  believing  heart  rests  solely  upon 
God.  It  may  be  childlike,  but  it  cannot  be  called 
childish.  One  can  always  be  filial  without  being 
foolish.  Indeed,  it  would  be  well  if  rash  and 
ribald  men  would  accept  this  composure  before 
they  deride  it.  It  would  be  to  edification  if  any- 
body could  be  permitted  to  fasten  his  eyes  upon 
one  who,  from  sheer  fortitude  amidst  wild  confu- 
sions, such  as  we  daily  enter,  can  call  his  nights 
refreshing  and  his  days  quiet,  while  fortunes  go 
to  pieces,  and  fictions  of  wealth  break  and  flash 
like  bubbles  on  the  sea-beach,  "  a  moment  white, 
then  gone  forever."     Faith  always  stands  firmer 


150  SERMONS    IN    SONGS. 

Wasted  effort.  A  hand  in  a  hand. 

than  mere  courage.  And  down  upon  our  excited 
perturbations,  like  the  serene  chimes  of  Trinity 
Church  amid  the  roar  of  the  Wall  Street  gold- 
room,  comes  this  sweet  verse  :  "  Return  unto  thy 
rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bounti- 
fully with  thee  !" 

It  is  sad  to  think  how  much  patience  is  ex- 
hausted and  how  much  valuable  time  is  lost  in 
mere  effort  to  hold  one's  self  steady,  when  a  sur- 
render would  instantly  end  all  the  conflict.  The 
English  critic  Ruskin,  as  he  looks  on  the  ocean, 
exclaims,  "How  shall  we  follow  its  eternal 
changefulness  of  feeling  !  It  is  like  trying  to  paint 
a  soul."  Yes,  an  unsaved  and  unhelped  soul, 
that  is  said  to  resemble  "a  troubled  sea  which 
cannot  rest."  The  first  vessel  built  on  this  con- 
tinent was  named  "  The  Unrest."  But  when  a 
soul  is  saved,  it  is  safe,  and  then  it  is  calm. 

For  this  peace  of  a  Christian  man,  whose  heart 
is  kind,  whose  sins  are  pardoned,  whose  life  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God,  is  not  that  mere  apathy  of 
desperation,  which  a  crag  may  be  conceived  to 
have  in  a  tempest  it  defies  ;  it  is  just  the  quiet 
which  a  living  hand  has,  when  it  lies  in  the  true 
clasp  of  another  hand,  that  it  knows  is  stronger 
than  itself. 


XIII. 
THE   SINGERS    IN    PRISON. 

"  And  at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises 
UNTO  God." — Acts  i6  :  25. 

If  you  were  carefully  to  examiue  the  history  of 
the  church  along  the  early  years  of  its  conflicts 
and  establishment,  you  would  find  that  it  had  not 
been  brought  directly  into  antagonism  with  organ- 
ized heathen  forces  until  this  incident  occurred  to 
which  allusion  is  made  in  the  text.  Hitherto  the 
contest  had  been  between  Judaism  and  Chris- 
tianity. But  when  the  gospel  had  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  Europe,  it  entered  a  new  social  and 
domestic  form  of  life.  The  small  band  (ff  four 
missionaries — -Paul,  Silas,  Luke,  and  Timothy — en- 
tertained hospitably  in  the  household  of  Lydia, 
an  Asiatic  tradeswoman,  would  not  look  very 
formidable  as  a  revolutionary  element  in  a  large 
city  like  Phihppi.  But  these  were  the  men  of 
whom  it  was  said,  they  turned  the  world  upside 
down  wherever  they  went  to  work. 

Already  there  was  good  doing  in  the  Macedo- 
nian capital  ;  religious  truth  was  passing  from  lip 
to  lip  ;  and,  without  doubt,  heart  after  heart 
received  it  which  the  Lord  opened  as  he  did 
Lydia's  before.     But  while  Paul  was  on  his  daily 


152  SERMONS   IN    SONGS. 

A  demoniac   pythoness.  Dangerous  indorsement. 

rounds,  he  found  himself  decidedly  annoyed  by 
the  pertinacity  of  a  demoniac  pythoness,  who  in- 
sisted on  following  him  closely,  uttering  some 
nonsense  behind  him  as  he  walked  through  the 
streets.     The  story  is  related  to  us  thus  : 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  as  we  went  to  prayer,  a 
certain  damsel,  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  divina- 
tion, met  us,  who  brought  her  masters  much  gain 
by  soothsaying  :  the  same  followed  Paul  and  us, 
and  cried,  saying.  These  men  are  the  servants  of 
the  most  high  God,  which  show  unto  us  the  way 
of  salvation.  And  this  did  she  many  days.  But 
Paul  being  grieved,  turned  and  said  to  the  spirit, 
I  command  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
come  out  of  her.  And  he  came  out  the  same 
hour." 

This  seems  to  have  been  a  slave  girl,  possessed 
by  an  unclean  spirit.  She  uttered  nothing  of  any 
worth  to  anybody  ;  but  people  of  uneducated  and 
superstitious  imagination  had  a  sort  of  notion  that 
a  creature  whose  intellect  was  shattered  might  be 
under  special  visitation  from  the  gods.  So  of  the 
incoherent  ravings  of  this  damsel  her  masters 
were  wont  to  make  gain,  selling  her  absurd  pre- 
dictions to  those  who  v/ere  weak  enough  to  seek 
them.  It  is  probable  that  a  fear  arose  in  the 
apostle's  mind  lest  the  multitude  should  suppose 
he  owned  this  maiden  ;  her  delirious  approval  of 
him  and  his  preaching  rendered  her  presence  em- 
barrassing. Perhaps  he  dreaded  the  indorsement 
of  so  questionable  and    notorious   a   companion- 


THE   SINGERS   IN   PRISON.  1 53 


Paul's  exorcism.  The  abrupt  arrest. 

ship  ;  at  any  rate,  he  resolved  to  silence  forever 
its  worst  feature  of  outcry. 

Turning  abruptly  upon  his  steps  one  day,  he, 
by  a  word  of  inspired  command,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  exorcised  the  demon  of  possession, 
bidding  him  come  out  of  the  girl's  mind.  This  at 
once  restored  her  to  sanity,  and,  of  course,  made 
her  valueless  for  all  exhibition  to  those  who 
owned  her  and  profited  by  her  madness.  Of  the 
change  in  their  property  they  became  immediately 
aware,  and  angrily  caused  the  arrest  of  Paul,  and 
with  him  Silas,  who  most  likely  was  in  his  com- 
pany at  the  moment  of  the  rencounter.  The  story 
runs  on  thus  : 

"  And  when  her  masters  saw  that  the  hope  of 
their  gains  was  gone,  they  caught  Paul  and  Silas, 
and  drew  them  into  the  market-place  unto  the 
rulers,  and  brought  them  to  the  magistrates,  say- 
ing. These  men,  being  Jews,  do  exceedingly 
trouble  our  city,  and  teach  customs  which  are  not 
lawful  for  us  to  receive,  neither  to  observe,  being 
Romans." 

In  the  haste  of  their  indignation,  these  infamous 
charlatans  appear  not  to  have  agreed  beforehand 
as  to  the  form  which  their  accusation  should  take 
in  the  legal  trial.  Once  on  the  ground,  they  be- 
came painfully  conscious  that  the  prcetors  would 
demand  a  reason  for  the  abrupt  apprehension  of 
two  persons  upon  the  public  highway,  and  they 
must  be  ready  with  a  reply.  But  surely  there 
was  no  possible  Roman    law    which  by  any   in- 


154  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Property  in  madress.  Scourging  with  "  many  stripes." 

genuity  could  be  made  to  include  the  healing  of  a 
demoniac  among  criminal  offences,  no  matter  what 
came  of  it.  Property  in  mere  madness  could  not 
be  recognized. 

Eventually  the  shape  in  which  they  put  their 
complaint  shifted  its  ground.  They  omitted  the 
real  personal  issue,  and  asserted  that  these  eastern 
people,  foreigners,  "being  Jews,"  were  injuri- 
ously stirring  up  the  city  by  introducing  manners 
and  customs  which  were  illegal  for  Roman  citi- 
zens to  observe.  The  expression  "  being  Jews" 
loses  its  keen  force  in  our  rendering  ;  it  means 
"  Jews,  to  begin  with,"  and  so  contains  a  most 
subtle  appeal  to  popular  passion.  We  are  not 
surprised  at  the  result  :  "  And  the  multitude  rose 
up  together  against  them  ;  and  the  magistrates 
rent  off  their  clothes,  and  commanded  to  beat 
them." 

The  shaft  instantly  struck.  The  authorities 
waited  for  nothing  more  than  this.  Their  preju- 
dices converted  such  interferences  from  foreigners 
into  insults  and  misdemeanors  at  once.  The 
orders  were  given  for  stripping  and  scourging 
these  innocent  men.  Now,  under  Jewish  law  the 
number  of  stripes  was  limited  :  thirty-nine  at  a 
time — "  forty  stripes  save  one" — was  all  that 
could  be  ini'^icted  But  no  such  restriction  was 
put  on  the  Romans.  Probably  Silas  and  Paul 
were  whipoed  with  great  severity  ;  the  expres- 
sion here  is  very  strong,  "  many  stripes."  And 
in   one  of  the  epistles  to  the  Corinthian  Church 


THE   SINGERS   IN   PRISON.  1 55 

Thrust  into  the  common  jail.  Feet  in  the  stocks. 

Paul  speaks  of  having  received  "stripes  above 
measure."  Moreover,  the  Romans  used  rods  ; 
the  order  was  given  to  the  iictors,  called  here 
"  sergeants,"  to  beat  them  with  their  fasces,  which 
consisted  of  a  bundle  of  birch  or  elm  withes, 
arranged  around  a  sharpened  axe  in  the  middle, 
reserved  for  capital  punishments,  the  whole  bound 
together  by  a  leather  thong.  This  was  not  the 
only  time  the  brave  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  felt 
the  Gentiles'  wrath  in  this  manner.  He  says 
afterward,  "  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods." 

But  the  trouble  did  not  end  here.  The  bleed- 
ing men  were  now  thrust  ignominiously  into  the 
common  jail.  Something  of  alarm,  or  perhaps  of 
extraordinary  zeal  to  win  favor  with  his  masters, 
induced  the  keeper  to  rush  his  victims  into  the 
innermost  cell,  putting  them  in  unusual  ward,  as  if 
he  thought  they  were  a  dangerous  charge  :  "  And 
when  they  had  laid  many  stripes  upon  them,  they 
cast  them  into  prison,  charging  the  jailer  to  keep 
them  safely.  Who,  having  received  such  a  charge, 
thrust  them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their 
feet  fast  in  the  stocks." 

A  wooden  machine,  hinged  with  iron,  separated 
the  feet  of  the  prisoners  wide  apart,  closing  across 
the  ankles  with  a  hollowed  groove.  Of  course, 
any  attempt  to  lie  down  could  only  result  in 
bringing  a  fresh  agony  to  the  wounds  inflicted  by 
the  rods,  as  the  full  weight  of  the  body  came 
directly  down  upon  the  flooring  of  stone.  Such 
a  night  of   suffering  as  this   was  one  long  to  be 


Is6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


Singing  in  the  midnight.  Scene  at  Lydia's  house. 

remembered.  Just  at  its  depth  our  text  comes 
in  :  "  And  at  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and 
sang  praises  unto  God,  and  the  prisoners  heard 
them," 

So,  then,  the  picture  rises  upon  our  imagina- 
tion. We  can  discover  nothing  more  concerning 
the  terrible  history  of  that  painful  midnight.  We 
must  just  take  our  stand  outside  of  the  prison 
where  Luke  and  Timothy  are  lingering  around 
the  walls.  Interference  was  perilous  and  succor 
was  impossible  ;  but  we  can  have  no  doubt  as  to 
the  pitiful  and  tearful  longings  of  heart  with 
which  these  friends  stood  out  under  the  stars  until 
all  hope  had  disappeared.  How  the  sympathetic 
nature  of  the  "beloved  ph3''sician"  must  have 
been  tried  as  he  found  himself  shut  away  from 
even  the  privilege  of  attending  to  the  wounds  of 
his  feeble  friends  ! 

We  always  think  first  of  the  men  who  were 
scourged,  when  we  seem  to  hear  the  sound  of  the 
awful  blows  in  the  air  ;  but  one  silent  thought  of 
commiseration  would  be  quite  in  order  here  con- 
cerning that  whole  company  at  Lydia's  house, 
filled  with  sorrow  and  dismay  at  this  catastrophe. 
When  these  two  watchers  came  home  that  night 
late,  and  told  the  tale  of  the  scourging,  and  the 
jail,  and  the  stocks,  it  was  a  sad  and  troubled 
family  which  wept  and  prayed  for  their  beloved 
leaders.  It  is  not  stated  that  they  had  any 
chance  afterward  of  sending  in  even  one  word  of 
pity  or  affection.     But  we  all  believe  that  when 


THE   SINGERS   IN   PRISON.  1 57 


An  excellent  prayer-meeting.  Familiarity  with  Scripture. 

the  two  prisoners  were  singing  in  the  suffering 
midnight,  the  small  circle  under  the  Christian 
roof  of  Lydia  kept  patiently  on  their  knees  for 
them. 

It  is  time  for  us  now  to  begin  to  seek  out  our 
spiritual  lessons,  for  we  can  linger  upon  the  actual 
histor}^  no  longer.  We  may  take  up  those  which 
lie  nearest  to  our  hand,  and  yet  find  enough. 

1.  For  example,  see  here  Jiow  easy  it  is  to  have 
an  cxcclloit  prayer-inccting  when  only  the  heart  is 
right.  The  circumstances  in  this  instance  were, 
as  we  have  noticed,  most  discouraging.  But 
everybody  knows  now  what  an  evident  success 
was  reached  in  this  jail  by  the  little  prayer-meet- 
ing of  three  persons.  Three?  Yes,  three  :  Paul, 
Silas,  and  Jesus  Christ.  Even  the  ancient  Jesvs 
had  a  saying,  "  Where  two  persons  meet,  there 
are  always  three."  They  meant  to  intimate  that 
God  was  ever-present  in  the  counsels  of  men. 
But  we  have  a  more  sure  word  of  promise  as 
Christians  in  Christ's  words  :  "  Again,  I  say  unto 
you,  That  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth,  as 
touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
For  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in 
my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 

2.  Then  again  :  learn  here  hozv  fine  a  thing  it  is 
to  be  familiar  zvith  the  Scriptures.  For  what  do  we 
conjecture  Paul  and  Silas  sang  about  there  in  the 
dark,  without  any  books  and  without  any  music? 
We  know  the  Jews  all  loved  the  ancient  Psalms, 


158  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

What  did  they  sing?  The  Hebrew  Psalter. 

and  had  in  memory  most  of  them  for  easy  recall. 
It  is  a  pleasing-  suggestion  now  that  these  tried 
men  found  the  exact  hymn  they  wanted  in  the 
well-remembered  Psalter.  Hebrew  music  is  very 
wild,  plaintive,  and  fascinating.  You  can  hear  it 
sometimes  in  our  day  as  you  pass  the  open  door 
of  a  synagogue.  Match  one  of  those  grand  old 
lyrics  to  it,  and  it  will  move  you  like  a  strain  from 
the  sky.  For  really  there  is  great  strength  and 
great  fire  in  the  inspired  Jewish  poems.  In  the 
village  churchyards  the  Covenanters  sang  them  as 
they  affixed  their  names  to  the  perilous  parch- 
ments. Oliver  Cromwell's  legions  of  soldiers 
sang  them  as  they  plunged  into  battle.  Paul  and 
Silas  sang  psalms,  we  have  not  a  doubt  of  it  ; 
many  of  them  are  fashioned  precisely  like  pra3'ers. 
There  is  no  end  to  those  which  would  have 
praised  God  with  all  emphasis,  and  3'et  have  im- 
plored his  interposition  in  the  most  effective  and 
satisfactory  way.  Those  about  prisoners,  those 
about  the  oppressed,  those  about  iniquitous 
rulers,  those  about  infinite  goodness  and  divine 
mercy  never  to  be  exhausted  toward  God's 
chosen  in  their  times  of  trouble,  you  will  recollect 
them  all.  Some  very  fine  pieces  were  written  by 
Moses,  and  a  few  by  Asaph  also  ;  but  David 
seems  to  have  had  the  most  experience,  and  so 
has  furnished  for  other  tried  people  the  most  help. 
And  so  we  feel  very  bold  to  say  that  he  who  has 
learned  psalm  after  psalm  by  heart,  and  can  sing 
them  in  the  dark,  has  wonderful  resources  of  in- 


THE   SINGERS   IN   PRISON.  1 59 

Fitness  of  music  for  comfort.  Elihu's  counsel. 

struction  and  promise  for  his  comfort  in  the  day 
of  trouble. 

3.  Now  add  to  this  suggestion  another  concern- 
ing the  eminent  fitness  of  imisic  as  the  vehicle  of 
spiritual  enlivening  and  solace.  It  cannot  be  doubt- 
ed that  singing  has  an  extraordinary  power  in 
exorcising  the  demon  of  worry  and  discontent. 
Martin  Luther  used  to  say,  "  The  devil  cannot 
bear  singing."  This  is  what  the  psalmist  himself 
means  when  he  is  singing  a  song  for  other  people 
to  sing  : 

"Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul?  and 
why  art  thou  disquieted  in  me  ?  hope  thou  in 
God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him  for  the  help  of  his 
countenance.  O  my  God,  my  soul  is  cast  down 
within  me  :  therefore  will  I  remember  thee  from 
the  land  of  Jordan,  and  of  the  Hermonites,  from 
the  hill  Mizar.  Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at  the 
noise  of  thy  water-spouts  :  all  thy  waves  and  thy 
billows  are  gone  over  me.  Yet  the  Lord  will 
command  his  loving-kindness  in  the  daytime,  and 
in  the  night  his  song  shall  be  with  me,  and  my 
prayer  unto  the  God  of  my  life.  Why  art  thou 
cast  down,  O  my  soul  ?  and  why  art  thou  dis- 
quieted within  me  ?  hope  thou  in  God  ;  for  I  shall 
37et  praise  him,  who  is  the  health  of  my  counte- 
nance, and  my  God." 

You  will  perhaps  remember  the  words  of  the 
young  Elihu,  when  he  attempted  to  counsel  and 
admonish  the  murmuring  Job.  He  admitted  to 
him  that  men  were  ready  enough  to  cry  out  under 


l6o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  Songs  in  ihe  night."  Uneasy  Sundays. 

sorrow  ;  "  but  none  saith,  Where  is  God,  my 
Maker,  who  giveth  me  songs  in  the  night  ?"  No- 
body has  ever  learned  to  sing,  as  he  might  and 
ought  to  sing,  till  his  verses  hav^e  come  to  be  a 
positive  help  to  him.  These  are  "  the  songs  in 
the  night"  about  which  we  hear  so  much.  And 
as  long  as  a  Christian's  enjoyment  of  them  is  no 
more  than  a  mere  artistic  or  a  simple  cesthetic 
pleasure,  he  is  certain  to  fall  short  of  appreciating 
the  highest  office  of  poetry  and  music  in  this 
lonely  world. 

4.  Suppose,  then,  we  add  another  lesson  to 
this  :  does  it  not  offer  a  helpful  hint  as  to  the  zvay 
in  zvhich  the  vacant  hours  of  an  iincasy  Sunday  may 
be  spent  with  young  children  ?  The  cynical  moralist 
Dr.  Johnson  says  in  his  autobiography  :  "  Sunday 
was  a  heavy  day  to  me  when  I  was  a  boy.  My 
mother  confined  me  in  the  house  as  often  as  this 
came  round,  and  made  me  read  '  The  Whole  Duty 
of  Man,'  from  a  great  part  of  which  I  could  derive 
no  instruction."  It  is  no  wonder  that  he  grew  up 
morose  and  sour  in  his  estimate  of  Christian  life. 
On  the  other  hand,  hear  the  pious  George  Herbert : 

"  The  golden  Sundays  of  man's  life, 

Threaded  together  on  Time's  string, 
Make  bracelets  to  adorn  the  wife 
Of  the  eternal  glorious  King." 

It  is  worth  while  for  all  well-ordered  families  to 
cultivate  a  joyous  spirit  of  song  in  their  hearts 
and  homes.  Set  apart  a  portion  of  every  Lord's 
Day  for  music.      Teach  your  children  to  sing  at 


THE   SINGERS   IN   PRISON.  l6l 

Hymns  to  commit.  David  and  Saul. 

the  family  altar.  For  your  own  need  and  enjoy- 
ment commit  to  memory  an  extensive  variety  of 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs.  It  was  a 
fine  thing  for  Paul  and  Silas  that  they  recollected 
a  few  things  alike  to  sing  together  there  in  the 
dark  without  any  books.  A  day  may  come  when 
)^our  minds,  weakened  by  sickness  or  old  age,  will 
be  helped  just  by  the  rhymes,  when  you  can 
recollect  nothing  else  for  a  solace.  Take  such 
pieces  as,  "  Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God,"  "  I 
saw  One  hanging  on  a  tree,"  "  When  I  survey 
the  wondrous  cross,"  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled 
with  blood,"  "Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken." 
Lay  these  up  in  your  mind.  They  will  furnish 
you  food  in  times  of  trouble.  If  you  ever  happen 
to  be  watching  beside  a  sick-bed,  and  feel  at  a 
loss  what  to  say,  you  will  find  such  a  gleam  of 
delight  on  the  face  of  the  one  you  watch,  when 
you  begin  to  say  over — or  what  is  better,  to  sing 
over  softly — a  verse  or  two,  that  your  memory, 
though  the  poorest  on  record,  will  be  amply 
recompensed  for  the  outlay.  Ill-humor  among 
children,  impatience  at  the  tediousness  of  a  Sun- 
day silence,  fretfulness  from  in-door  life,  will  jneld 
sooner  before  singing  than  anything  else.  I  do 
believe  that  the  harp  of  the  young  David,  if  he 
had  persistently  kept  up  his  efforts  of  minstrelsy, 
would  eventually  have  prevailed  over  the  jealous 
madness  of  Saul,  and  put  an  end  to  his  flinging  of 
javelins. 

5.  Finall}^,  let  us  learn  here  what  is  the  one  con- 


l62  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Condition  of  Christian  peace.  Annals  of  the  past. 

dition  of  a  sure  success  in  reacJiing  Cliristiaji  peace  : 
we  must  just  make  the  very  best  we  can  out  of  the 
present  posture  of  affairs.  It  seems  an  impossi- 
bility sometimes  to  keep  up  a  brave  heart  in  our 
trials.  A  great  sense  of  failure  must  have  settled 
upon  the  minds  of  those  abused  preachers  in  the 
Philippian  prison.  Why,  what  had  they  done  ? 
Paul  had  restored  reason  to  a  mad  girl — a  deed 
which,  if  he  had  advertised  as  a  Macedonian  philan- 
thropist, would  have  given  him  a  proud  reputa- 
tion all  over  Greece.  He  had  wrought  a  notable 
miracle,  too  ;  and  this,  if  one  of  their  heathen 
priests  had  done  it,  would  assuredly  have  gone  to 
the  credit  of  his  deity  and  his  personal  acclaim. 

But  this  was  all  the  messengers  of  the  true  God 
got  for  their  trouble.  There  they  both  sat  in  the 
dark  ;  it  was  distressingly  sad,  it  was  unutter- 
ably lonesome  and  disheartening,  it  was  chilly, 
damp,  painful  ;  it  looked  hopeless  and  forlorn  for 
the  future  ;  they  had  certainly  been  treated 
shamefully,  unjustly,  and  pitilessly.  But  ail  they 
did  was  to  strike  up  a  tune.  Tradition  says  Paul 
could  never  have  been  much  of  a  singer.  He  had 
a  poor  voice.  But  it  is  possible  that  he  put  in 
"the  spirit  and  the  understanding,"  while  Silas 
took  care  of  the  melody.  He  knew  that  there 
was  a  new  hope  coming.  The  Saviour's  presence 
was  close  beside  them  both  ;  eventually  each 
wrong  would  be  righted,  each  sorrow  assuaged. 
For  all  those  grand  annals  of  the  past  were  familiar 
to  them.     Joseph  was  cast  in  prison,  and  had  his 


THE   SINGERS   IN   FRISON.  163 

Paul's  perfect  "content."  Not  "  therewith,"  but  "  therein." 

feet  in  the  fetters  ;  but  the  stocks  proved  his  foot- 
steps to  the  throne.  Daniel  was  thrust  into  the 
hons'  den  ;  yet  a  day  came  when  he  was  pro- 
claimed ruler  in  Babylon.  So  they  sang  on. 
Their  secret  Paul  reveals  afterward  :  "  I  have 
learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be 
content." 

Be  careful  about  that  word  "  therewith  ;"  the 
one  in  the  New  Revision  is  better  ;  it  says  "there- 
in." Paul  did  not  mean  to  have  the  world  under- 
stand that  he  was  content  to  stay  in  a  jail ;  he  would 
find  instant  release,  if  he  could.  He  did  not  love 
poverty  and  pain  and  peril.  He  tried  all  he  could 
in  every  instance  to  avert  and  escape  from  such 
things.  Yet  all  the  while  he  preserved  a  calm 
content,  not  "therewith,"  but  "  therein." 

Content  with  what  ?  With  his  joys  and  his 
hopes,  with  his  reminiscences  and  his  anticipations, 
with  his  sonship  in  God  and  his  communion  with 
Christ.  It  was  to  this  very  group  of  believers  in 
Philippi  that  he  wrote  about  his  perfect  satisfaction 
with  all  he  had  endured  in  their  town  ;  he  was 
content  "  therewith,"  because  Christ  was  preached 
thus;  "therein"  he  rejoiced.  "Yea,"  he  ex- 
claims, "  and  will  rejoice  ;  according  to  my  earnest 
expectation  and  my  hope  that  in  nothing  I  shall 
be  ashamed,  but  that  wnth  all  boldness,  as  always, 
so  now  also  Christ  shall  be  magnified  in  my  body, 
whether  it  be  by  life  or  by  death." 


XIV. 
THE   LATERAL   FORCE   OF   PRAYER. 

"And  the  prisoners  heard  them." — Acts  i6  :  25. 

There  used  to  be  a  legend  told  concerning'  one 
of  the  historic  battle-fields  of  the  East  ;  it  was  said 
that  precisely  at  stroke  of  midnight,  the  heroes  of 
the  conflict  were  wont  to  come  forth  upon  the 
plains  of  the  fight,  and  there  rehearse  their  deeds 
of  prowess  again  ;  hosts  would  charge  hosts  of 
shadowy  beings,  and  phalanxes  of  disembodied 
spirits  would  plunge  along  on  steeds  of  fire. 

You  will  remember  that  one  of  the  mightiest 
victories  of  history  was  obtained  at  Philippi. 
There  the  final  stand  was  taken  by  the  republicans 
of  Rome.  The  world  will  always  lay  its  meed  of 
applause  at  the  feet  of  Antony  for  his  warlike 
courage  and  adroit  advance  of  troops  in  subtle 
generalship  by  which  he  won  his  laurels.  But 
how  it  would  arrest  one's  imagination,  if  the  old 
legends  were  true  of  this  neighborhood,  and  we 
could  stand  by  while  the  village  clocks  were  strik- 
ing twelve,  and  witness  the  weird  combats  on 
such  a  mysterious  field  between  the  spirits  of  men 
dead  centuries  ago  ! 

But  the  chapter  in  the  New  Testament  now  be- 
fore us  records  a  far  greater  victory,  and  one  far 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER.      165 

Antony's  victory  at  Philippi.  A  greater  conquest. 

more  important  in  the  annals  of  a  race  like  ours. 
The  whole  contest  was  between  souls.  And  the 
battle  is  repeated  not  only  on  the  same  spot  at 
midnight,  but  on  every  spot  each  day  and  hour 
over  the  whole  world.  A  soul  was  plucked  out 
of  Satan's  hand  that  day,  and  changed  into  a  child 
of  God.  And  when  even  the  remembrance  of  the 
chaplet  which  that  Roman  general  wore  at  his  tri- 
umph shall  have  faded  away  forever,  there  will 
yet  be  one  of  the  many  crowns  the  Saviour  is  to 
wear,  which  will  remind  those  who  behold  the 
King  in  his  beauty  of  the  bloodless  waterside, 
outside  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  where  Europe  was 
conquered  for  Christ's  kingdom  by  the  conver- 
sion of  a  woman,  and  also  of  the  shattered  prison 
in  which  a  Roman  officer  was  subdued  by  divine 
grace  and  made  a  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  history  to  which  this  fragment  of  a  verse 
chosen  as  the  text  now  introduces  us,  has  already 
been  rendered  sufficiently  familiar  for  all  our 
present  needs.  Paul  and  Silas  were  in  the  ward 
of  a  Philippian  jail,  in  pain  from  the  scourging, 
and  in  jeopardy  of  their  lives.  But  they  spent 
their  time  in  anything  rather  than  in  melancholy 
forebodings  or  petulant  regrets.  The  whole 
verse  reads  thus  :  "  And  at  midnight  Paul  and 
Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises  unto  God  ;  and  the 
prisoners  heard  them." 

It  was  a  most  unusual  place  of  prayer.  Very 
likely  this   was  the  first  occasion  on   which   the 


1 66  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Place  and  posture  of  prayer.  "They  prayed,  hymning  God." 

voice  of  Christian  devotion  had  ever  been  heard 
in  precincts  so  positively  heathen  as  these.  That 
complicated  and  smothering  inclosure  of  Roman 
confinement  certainly  was  the  earliest  dungeon  in 
Europe  which  held  a  mercy-seat,  although  the 
awful  history  of  many  martyrs  has  shown  that  it 
had  more  than  one  wall. marked  place  of  torment 
to  succeed  it. 

It  was  a  most  unusual />ostt^ re  of  prayer.  For  it 
was  neither  standing,  nor  reclining,  nor  kneeling, 
nor  lying  prone  on  one's  face.  Ah  me  !  what  a 
poor  time  of  it  these  suffering  creatures  would 
have  had  if  they  had  been  compelled  to  use  a 
formula  or  work  themselves  into  an  attitude.  We 
have  every  reason  to  believe  that  our  God  does 
not  care  for  such  things  when  only  the  heart  is 
right,  and  the  spirit  is  true,  and  the  want  is  press- 
ing ;  he  is  not  particular  about  forms  and  postures. 

It  was  a  most  unusual  kind  of  prayer.  Much  is 
missed  by  dividing  the  words  here  ;  they  should 
read  thus:  "Praying,  they  sang."  The  New 
Revision  has  rendered  the  passage  thus  :  "  But 
about  midnight  Paul  and  Silas  were  praying  and 
singing  hymns  unto  God,  and  the  prisoners  were 
listening  to  them."  The  Greek  is  idiomatic  to 
a  fine  degree  :  "  They  prayed,  hymning  God." 
These  apostles  set  their  petitions  to  music.  It  is 
of  some  importance  to  know  that  true  prayer  is 
praise,  and  genuine  praise  is  prayer.  God  is 
lauded  when  we  plead  with  him,  and  is  entreated 
when    we    celebrate    his   glory.     Each    doxology 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER.     1 6/ 

The  direction  of  prayer.  The  triangle  pictured. 

pronounces  a  benediction  ;  he  answers  when  we 
say  "  Hallelujah  ;"  he  is  praised  when  a  sinner 
cries,  "  Save,  or  I  perish  !" 

But  now,  in  order  to  render  the  specific  thought 
of  this  discourse  prominent,  "  the  lateral  force  of 
prayer,"  we  need  to  remark  that  there  was  a  most 
singular  direction  to  this  prayer.  It  will  perhaps 
be  helpful  here,  in  order  to  make  the  meaning 
clear,  to  employ  a  figure  :  imagine  a  triangle,  as 
if  one  were  going  to  talk  about  what  mathemati- 
cians call  ' '  the  composition  of  forces. ' '  In  this  the 
perpendicular  line  represents  what  we  commonly 
look  upon  as  the  direction  of  a  Christian  man's 
petition  ;  it  goes  up  straight  toward  God.  But 
the  horizontal  line  represents  the  level  pressure  of 
the  same  force,  but  going  out  toward  those  within 
range  who  listen  and  are  influenced  by  it.  Those 
prisoners,  no  doubt,  heard  the  singing  and  the 
praying  of  the  two  men  in  the  inner  ward  of  the 
prison  ;  it  was  not  addressed  to  them,  but  it 
swept  out  toward  them  with  an  oblique  or  lateral 
force. 

Such  a  point  as  this  ought  to  have  some  illus- 
tration both  for  the  sake  of  an  unmistakable  exhi- 
bition of  its  real  helpfulness,  and  for  the  sake  of 
its  careful  discrimination  from  what  looks  like  it 
and  yet  is  injurious  in  every  instance. 

There  is  something  ver}^  impressive  even  in  the 
mere  sight  of  a  pra3'ing  Christian.  I  have  read 
within  a  little  while  the  story  of  a  faithful  worker 
in  the  ministry,  who  had  been  away  from  home 


l68  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Prayer  behind  a  tree.  The  one  condition. 

for  a  week  assisting-  in  a  revival.  When  he 
started  to  return,  he  was  accompanied  by  the 
pastor  and  a  young  friend  to  the  Umits  of  the 
village.  There  on  the  hill-top,  full  of  solemn 
feeling,  they  parted  with  a  joint  supplication. 
Climbing-  the  fence,  they  were  hidden  from  the 
road,  and  there  knelt  among  the  branches  of  a 
fallen  tree,  that  no  eye  but  the  All-seeing  might 
rest  upon  them.  They  all  prayed  and  separated. 
A  few  weeks  thereafter,  among  the  converts, 
came  a  rough,  honest  farmer  to  join  himself  to  the 
people  of  God.  He  told  how  he  was  ploughing 
in  the  field  one  day,  and  saw  up  by  the  roadside 
three  men  kneel  to  pray.  The  very  thought  of  it 
moved  him.  And  the  more  he  pondered,  the 
more  his"  own  prayerless  life  came  in  review. 
And  he  found  no  peace  till  he  himself  became  a 
follower  of  the  Saviour  likewise. 

This  is  the  usual  form  which  the  thought  takes 
as  we  find  it  reached  in  ordinary  life.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  one  indispensable  element  of  success 
is  found  in  the  artlessness  and  unconsciousness  of 
those  who  are  in  the  act  of  devotion.  It  is  absurd 
folly  to  suppose  that  supplicating  God  with  the 
view  of  influencing  men  is  anything  more  than 
mocker}^  or  conceit.  It  is  not  safe  to  calculate 
deliberately  upon  affecting  a  bystander  by  our 
supplication  ;  preaching  in  prayers  is  never  to  be 
commended  ;  but  a  life  of  prayer,  and  an  uncon- 
scious fervor  of  prayer  in  an  individual  instance, 
may  be  useful  to  one  who  watches  it. 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER.      1 69 

The  murdered  watchman.  A  prayer  overheard. 

Take  another  illustration,  and  we  shall  see  how 
a  Christian's  spirit  and  words  can  become  posi- 
tively dramatic.  It  was  published  in  the  papers 
not  long  since,  and  I  have  read  it  in  an  English 
book,  that  there  was  a  bridge-watchman  on  one 
of  our  Western  roadways,  in  whose  hands  the  toll- 
money  was  placed.  He  dwelt  pretty  much  alone 
in  a  small  structure  erected  for  his  ordinary  shel- 
ter out  over  the  water  near  the  middle  pier.  This 
faithful  man  was  murdered  by  a  passing  vagabond 
for  the  sake  of  the  cash  in  his  box  ;  the  criminal 
was  caught  quite  soon  afterward.  In  the  open 
court,  on  the  occasion  of  his  trial,  he  made  this 
remarkable  confession  :  "  I  knew  that  the  keeper 
had  received  some  tolls  and  also  his  month's 
wages  that  day  ;  I  resolved  to  have  the  money. 
With  a  shot-gun  I  crept  along  across  half  of  the 
silent  bridge.  I  could  see  through  the  window 
only  his  head  and  shoulders  ;  I  took  aim  and  fired. 
Then  I  waited  a  few  minutes  to  see  if  the  sound 
of  the  gun  had  alarmed  any  one  ;  but  all  was  still. 
Then  I  went  up  to  the  watch-house  door,  and 
there,  down  on  his  knees  praying,  I  found  the 
keeper  I  had  shot.  Very  calmly  and  distinctly  I 
heard  him  say  :  '  O  God,  have  mercy  on  the  man 
who  did  this,  and  spare  him  for  Jesus'  sake  !  '  I 
could  not  bear  to  touch  such  a  person's  money  ;  I 
turned  and  ran  away,  nowhere,  anywhere,  I  did 
not  know  whither  I  went  ;  his  words  rang  in  my 
ear,  they  have  haunted  me  ever  since.  I  was  go- 
ing back  to  give  myself  up  when  I  was  arrested." 


I/O  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Praying  for  effect.  A  most  unusual  hour. 

It  is  evident  that  the  individual  force  of  such  an 
example  of  forgiveness  and  solicitude  would  have 
been  not  only  lost,  but  perverted  and  reversed,  if 
there  had  been  the  slightest  reason  for  suspecting 
that  the  Christian  man  was  praying  for  effect. 
But  out  there  on  the  lonely  river  under  the  stars, 
with  no  one  within  call,  with  no  strength  for  cry- 
ing or  crawling  for  help,  with  only  the  deep, 
passionate  wish  for  the  pardon  and  salvation  of 
the  misguided  culprit  who  had  shot  him,  to  be  his 
prompting  in  a  few  words  that  were  left  him  to 
utter  before  the  everlasting  silence  fell  over  his 
human  lips,  there  could  be  no  misunderstanding. 
It  was  the  unpremeditated  act  of  intercession,  in 
that  desperate  moment,  which  swept  itself  out 
along  the  level  of  the  platform,  as  well  as  aloft 
beyond  the  sky,  and  struck  heavily  upon  the  dull 
conscience  of  the  murderer  standing  there  among 
the  shadows,  and  looking  at  the  wreck  of  a  life  he 
had  taken. 

Two  things  in  the  action  of  Paul  and  Silas,  shut 
in  the  jail,  need  to  be  noticed  in  order  to  show 
that  the  prayers  they  lifted  possessed  this  element 
of  artlessness.  For  one  thing,  remember  the  time 
was  midnight.  It  was  a  most  unusual  hour  for 
supplication.  We  all  know  how  strict  the  Israel- 
ites were  as  to  their  stated  seasons  of  devotion. 
This  was  not  the  time  for  either  the  evening  or 
the  morning  oblation.  These  Hebrew  Christians 
had  been  trained  to  such  habits  as  would  have 
influenced    their    subsequent    years.     But    what 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER.      I/I 

No  audience  expected.  John  Bunyan's  Pilgrim. 

they  prayed  for  now  was  help  in  their  sore  need. 
They  knew,  as  we  know,  that  God  neither  sleeps 
nor  slumbers  ;  he  is  alive  to  his  children's  wants 
even  in  what,  with  pathetic  sobriety,  we  call  "  the 
dead  of  night."  They  could  pray  to  God  then  ; 
but  men,  prisoners,  jailers — ev^erybody  would  be 
asleep  ;  we  are  told  explicitly  that  the  head  man 
of  the  prison  was  awaked,  not  b}^  the  singing,  but 
by  the  earthquake.  Surely  we  have  no  suspicion 
that  Paul  and  Silas  were  on  parade  when  at  the 
midnight  hour  they  raised  their  voices  out  of  the 
depth  of  their  woe.  They  were  praying  to  God, 
not  to  the  prisoners  outside. 

And  the  other  thing  is  this  :  they  were  singing 
their  supplications  ;  and  singing  is  more  the  in- 
strument for  expression  of  one's  own  heart  than 
of  impression  upon  the  hearts  of  others.  It  is 
often  singularly  and  overwhelmingly  impressive  ; 
but  this  is  because  the  singer  is  himself  so  much 
lost  in  the  exercise.  In  all  the  story  of  John 
Bunyan  there  is  no  one  thing  more  true  to  nature 
than  the  account  given  of  the  passage  of  the  pil- 
grim through  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death, 
and  especially  of  the  moment  when  he  seemed  to 
hear  the  voice  of  a  man,  as  going  before  him  and 
singing  a  psalm.  He  was  glad,  and  the  reasons  of 
his  gladness  are  given  :  he  gathered  from  thence 
that  some  who  feared  God  were  in  this  valley  as 
v/ell  as  himself  ;  then  also  he  saw  that  God  was 
with  them,  though  they  were  in  that  dark  and 
dismal   state  ;  and,  more  than  all   else,  he  hoped 


172  SERMONS  IN  SONGS. 

Mere  mockerj'  of  praise.  Praying  "  temperance." 

(could  he  overtake  them)  to  have  company  by  and 
by.  So  he  hurried  along,  and  called  to  him  that 
was  before  ;  but  he  knew  not  what  to  answer,  for 
that  he  also  thought  himself  to  be  alone.  He  had 
been  keeping  up  his  spirits  by  his  chant,  and  it 
confused  him  to  be  discovered  as  singing  for 
others'  delectation  ;  so  he  stopped. 

In  the  light  of  these  two  considerations,  that  it 
was  in  the  midnight,  when  no  audience  could  be 
supposed  to  be  listening,  and  that  they  were 
"hymning  God,"  not  for  others  but  for  them- 
selves, we  can  see  how  inconsistent  with  the 
whole  exercise  would  have  been  the  purpose  of 
making  their  own  cell  conspicuous  by  a  mockery 
of  praise  and  prayer  addressed  to  the  others 
around  them  out  of  sight  all  over  the  wards. 
When,  some  years  ago,  a  crusade  was  started 
which  had  for  its  plan  public  praying  assemblages 
along  the  highways,  held  in  front  of  drinking- 
saloons  for  the  sake  of  overawing  the  keepers 
and  salesmen  by  the  lateral  force  of  the  voices 
ostensibly  and  ostentatiously  directed  to  high 
heaven,  it  was  only  the  positive  perversion  of  an 
excellent  thing  into  an  embarrassment  and  a 
mockery  which  in  the  end  made  the  plan  ridicu- 
lous. The  curb-stone  prayer-meeting  was  a  joke 
and  a  jibe  in  the  mouth  of  those  whom  it  hoped  to 
influence,  and  riot  of  exasperation  was  the  quick 
defence  returned.  It  is  likely  that  not  one  in  ten 
of  the  petitions  went  up  straight  to  the  Hearer  of 
prayer  ;  when  one  closes  his  eyes  for  communion^ 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER.     1 73 

Shooting  round  a  corner.  A  world  full  of  "  prisoners." 

with  heaven,  what  does  he  see  ?  Christ,  the  In- 
tercessor But  in  these  instances  what  one  saw 
was  the  rumseller,  who  heard  himself  argued  with 
under  guise  of  a  mockery  of  God.  And  it  was 
well  for  the  decorum  of  God's  people  that  those 
excellent  although  misguided  Christians  ceased 
trying  to  shoot  arrows  from  their  bows  of  suppli- 
cation around  the  corner  at  an  angle. 

Let  it,  then,  be  understood  that  prayer,  faithful 
and  fervent,  pressed  directly  and  artlessly  toward 
God,  has  also  some  appreciable,  and  available, 
and  valuable  lateral  force  ;  and  now  at  once  we 
see  that  here  is  a  method  of  Christian  usefulness 
almost  limitless  in  its  reach.  A  life  of  prayer  is 
the  most  powerful  instrument  of  efficiency  which 
the  Scripture  reveals. 

Oh,  this  poor  world  is  full  of  "  prisoners"  all 
around  us  !  They  listen  while  our  lives  sing  and 
pray.  Just  now  there  has  been  related  to  me  the 
story  of  an  adult  girl  in  a  Bible-class,  going  to 
witness  a  communion  season  for  the  first  time  in 
her  life  ;  in  sheer  curiosity  she  tried  to  find  out 
what  all  those  people  were  at.  In  the  providence 
of  God  she  happened  to  find  a  seat  within  observ- 
ing distance  of  her  own  teacher.  The  unaffected 
and  sincere  manner  of  the  woman  told  on  the 
heart  and  conscience  of  the  worldly  scholar  ;  she 
could  not  put  the  thought  away,  after  she  had  sat 
there  and  seen  for  a  whole  hour  the  infinite  depth 
of  meaning  in  the  countenance  she  knew.  It  was 
that  honest  teacher's  face  which  converted  her 


1/4  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


Legh  Richmond's  mother.  A  soldier's  countersign. 

pupil  ;  so  we  were  made  to  see  when  we  received 
her  into  the  church,  and  the  two  sat  side  by  side 
at  communion. 

Legh  Richmond,  the  author  of  the  "  Dairy- 
man's Daughter,"  has  recorded  the  impression 
produced  upon  his  mind,  when  he  was  six  years 
of  age,  by  the  behavior  of  his  mother  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  Httle  brother's  death,  dropped  by  a 
nurse's  carelessness  through  a  window  on  the 
pavement  ;  he  saw  her  praying  frequently,  and 
indeed  she  took  him  with  her  to  pray  for  him 
several  times  ;  and  he  recollected  that  she  said  in 
her  sweet,  gentle  way  :  "If  I  stop  praying  even 
for  a  few  minutes  to-day,  I  am  ready  to  sink 
under  this  unlooked-for  disaster  ;  but  when  I 
pray,  God  comforts  me  and  upholds  me  !"  This 
prayerfulness  drew  so  deep  a  line  in  his  character 
that  when  he  was  almost  an  old  man  he  recalled  it. 

Sometimes  strange  poses  of  life  have  been  tested 
by  this  very  process.  A  soldier  came  to  the 
guard  without  the  countersign  ;  he  told  his  simple 
story  how  it  happened  ;  the  guard  gave  him  five 
minutes  for  prayer  before  he  should  be  shot  ; 
then,  when  he  kneeled  down  and  lifted  so  gentle 
and  so  trustful  a  prayer,  so  unaffected  and  so 
brave,  so  simple  and  affectionate,  it  was  hardly  a 
surprise  to  him  to  find  the  guard  on  his  knees  be- 
side him,  and  declaring,  "  Go  your  wa}^.  Chris- 
tian brother  ;  no  one  can  pray  as  you  do  and  tell 
an  untruth  !" 

Here,    therefore,    is   the   secret   of    usefulness. 


THE  LATERAL  FORCE  OF  PRAYER,     1 75 

Usefulness  within  reach.  Lives  "shut  in." 

Some  are  shut  in  like  Paul  and  Silas,  and  the  mid- 
night hangs  heavily  over  them.  They  can  do 
nothing  for  God?  Nay,  but  they  can  live  true, 
brave  lives,  simple-hearted  and  consistent.  That 
is  doing  much  for  God.  Other  prisoners  hear 
them,  when  they  are  dauntlessly  praising  with 
prayers  that  are  worship,  and  singing  with  songs 
that  are  sermons. 

"  Is  it  the  Lord  that  shuts  me  in  ? 

Then  I  can  bear  to  wait  ! 
No  place  so  dark,  no  place  so  poor, 
So  strong  and  fast,  no  prisoning  door, 

Though  walled  by  grievous  fate, 
But  out  of  it  goes  fair  and  broad 
An  unseen  pathway,  straight  to  God, 

By  which  I  mount  to  thee, 
When  the  same  Love  that  shut  the  door 
Shall  lift  the  heavy  bar  once  more, 

And  set  the  prisoner  free." 


XV. 

SECRET   SINS. 

"  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before  thee,  our  secret 

SINS  IN  the  light  OF  THY  COUNTENANCE." — Psalin  9O  :  8. 

This  verse  tranquilly  reasserts  the  precise  rela- 
tion human  behavior  holds  to  the  divine  acquaint- 
ance, and  human  guilt  holds  to  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure. The  all-seeing  Monarch  of  heaven  and 
earth  knows  everything,  and  abhors  everything 
distinctively  evil.  He  sets  every  secret  iniquity 
"before  him  ;"  then  he  registers  its  aggravations 
as  they  appear  "  in  the  light  of  his  countenance." 

I.  The  moment  we  begin  to  apply  the  glass  of 
divine  omniscience  to  the  examination  of  private 
conduct,  we  are  tempted  to  do  as  the  Hindoo 
prince  is  reported  to  have  done,  when  he  was 
shown  by  a  microscope  the  foul  creatures  in  the 
seemingly  pure  water  he  was  drinking.  He 
would  not  reject  the  cup,  but  he  dashed  the  un- 
offending instrument  on  the  floor. 

Many  men  would  wilfully  surrender  belief  in 
the  uncomfortable  doctrine  of  omniscience  if  they 
could.  But  a  voice  speaks  in  our  ears  with  tones 
of  resolute  calmness  :  "  Hell  and  destruction  are 
before  the  Lord  ;  how  much  more,  then^  the 
hearts  of  the  children  of  men  !"     In  all  our  com- 


SECRET   SINS.  1 77 


Mere  angles  in  the  air.  Confessed  "  peccadillos." 

mission  of  habitual  wrong  there  is  a  conception  of 
vagueness  and  distance.  The  white  throne  of 
judgment  is  not  set  yet.  Heaven  is  out  of  sight. 
Retribution  is  remote.  Our  spiritual  vision  in 
one  respect  resembles  our  natural.  It  estimates 
poorly  at  long  ranges.  Our  impressions  of  mag- 
nitude are  always  governed  by  mere  angles  in  the 
air.  So  we  unconsciously  say,  "  Is  not  God  in 
the  height  of  heaven  ?  And  behold  the  height  of 
the  stars,  how  high  they  are  !  How  doth  God 
know  ?     Can  he  judge  through  the  dark  cloud  ?" 

More  than  one  man  can  be  found  who  would 
be  startled  if  he  imagined  anybody  but  a  minister, 
or  any  minister,  save  in  a  general  way,  suspected 
him  of  being  an  actual  law-breaker.  He  would 
be  seriously  offended  if  he  were  told  so  anywhere 
out  of  a  pulpit.  He  would  assert  his  innocence  of 
crime  or  violence.  And,  indeed,  he  may  make 
quite  a  fair  show  in  his  astonishment.  For  no  one 
of  his  offences  may  be  scandalous  or  even  extrav- 
agantly gross.  No  swearing  ;  possibly  he  may 
never  have  uttered  one  profane  word.  No  idola- 
try ;  surely  he  never  worshiped  any  false  God. 
He  is  neither  vicious  nor  immoral.  His  purpose 
is  to  be  honest.  He  really  intends  to  be  generous 
and  manly.     He  proposes  to  be  true. 

To  be  sure,  he  does  not  set  up  for  a  model.  He 
confesses  inadvertences  in  action.  He  acknowl- 
edges peccadillos  in  life.  He  admits  some  gen- 
eral imperfections  in  character.  But  he  resolutely 
asserts  he   has   wronged  no  man  intelligently  or 


178  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  divine  register.  Montaigne's  figure. 

with  evil  intention.  It  seems  to  him  a  harsh 
judgment,  and,  not  to  put  too  fine  a  point  on  it,  a 
little  uncivil,  to  insist  that  he  must  personally  be 
numbered  among  those  blasphemers  before  God 
who  need  an  atonement  to  keep  them  out  of  peril 
of  a  fiery  hell. 

It  becomes  evident,  therefore,  that  there  is  a 
different  register  of  reckoning  kept  somewhere, 
by  which  the  number  of  human  sins  is  to  be 
counted,  as  well  as  by  which  the  degrees  of  ma- 
lignity and  guilt  are  to  be  settled.  For  what  does 
God  himself  say  ?  These  are  not  careless  words 
of  his,  and  we  may  not  give  them  careless  hearing  : 
"  Talk  no  more  so  exceeding  proudly  ;  let  not 
arrogancy  come  out  of  your  mouth  ;  for  the  Lord 
God  is  a  God  of  knoivledgc ,  and  by  him  actions  are 
7Ufighcd."  Is  it  not  possible  that  our  Maker  may 
have  a  way  of  searching  out  sin  superior  to  ours  ? 
And  is  it  not  possible  that,  beneath  the  plausible 
exterior  of  even  the  most  amiable  and  correct  life 
we  meet,  there  may  be  feelings,  and  purposes, 
and  principles  definitely  cherished,  which  wilfully 
injure  its  virtue,  and  perhaps  vitiate  its  entire 
worth  ? 

In  one  of  the  fugitive  essays  of  Montaigne  there 
is  found  a  very  frank  acknowledgment  on  this 
point ;  remarkable,  likewise,  for  a  figure  of  speech 
of  intense  energy  in  the  expression.  He  says  : 
"  When  I  the  most  strictly  and  religiously  confess 
myself,  I  find  that  the  best  virtue  I  have  has  in  it 
some  tincture  of  vice  ;  and  I  am  afraid  that  Plato, 


SECRET   SINS.  1 79 


A  spiritual  stethoscope.  The  divine  standard. 

in  his  purest  virtue,  if  he  had  listened  and  laid  his 
ear  close  to  himself,  would  have  heard  some  jarring 
sound  of  human  mixture."  You  have  seen  skilful 
surgeons  covering  the  chest  of  a  patient  with  a 
napkin,  or  touching  it  with  a  wooden  stethoscope, 
that  they  might  detect  symptoms  of  hidden  dis- 
ease, while  laying  the  ear  heavily  against  the 
lungs.  Every  man  may  expect  to  make  some 
fresh  discoveries,  if  he  will  lay  his  ear  of  candor 
alongside  of  the  innermost  seat  of  thought,  feel- 
ing, and  behavior.  It  is  better  to  make  use  of 
spiritual  auscultation  before  any  one  pronounces 
himself  healthily  clean  from  all  wrong.  This 
heart  of  ours  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  des- 
perately wicked.  Profitable  listening,  in  order  to 
a  cure,  this  might  occasionally  be  to  us  all  :  hu- 
miliating, however,  no  doubt.  It  harasses  the 
pride  to  do  it  much.  It  piques  the  vanity  to  do 
it  often.  But  no  man  can  righteously  pronounce 
on  his  own  case  before  God,  unless  he  seeks  to 
know  it  as  God  knows.  And  here  in  our  text  we 
are  told  that  God  sets  all  our  "  secret  sins"  before 
him. 

II.  This,  then,  is  our  first  lesson  to-day — God's 
knowledge  of  all  our  sins  is  thorough  and  exact. 
It  adds,  now,  to  the  force  of  what  has  been  said 
to  learn  from  this  verse  a  second  particular.  The 
Almighty  intends  to  make  men  see  what  he  sees, 
and  ultimately  render  judgment  upon  themselves. 

Hence  he  discloses  clearly  the  standard  he  em- 
ploys.    He  declares  that  all  transgression  of  the 


l8o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

God's  "  countenance."  "  Iron  sharpeneth  iron." 

divine  law  must  be  estimated  according  to  the 
purity  of  the  God  against  whom  it  is  committed. 
The  scriptural  admonition  has  here  been  cast  into 
so  striking  a  rhetorical  form  that  no  one  can  miss 
its  force.  "  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before 
thee,  our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  thy  conntenancc." 

The  human  face  is  worth  a  study  by  itself.  It 
is  the  true  placard  of  individual  character.  It 
announces  by  its  rapid  changes  each  fluctuation  of 
feeling,  each  fitful  flitting  of  emotion  and  senti- 
ment. Its  smile  is  life.  Its  frown  is  death.  Its 
shadow  is  gloom.  Its  kindling  is  joy.  The  feat- 
ures have  power  and  office  to  proclaim  the  inner 
purposes  of  the  soul.  There  have  been  men  who 
knew  and  feared  this.  They  drilled  their  facial 
muscles,  as  they  drilled  their  menials  and  their 
mutes,  that  they  should  simply  serve  and  make 
no  sign.  But  even  the  best  discipline  failed  if  the 
pressure  grew  heavy.  You  can  read  the  hopes 
and  despairs  of  the  tempted — the  knaveries  of  the 
hypocrite,  and  the  sorrows  of  the  pure  -the 
maiden's  love,  and  the  mother's  care — jealousies, 
greed,  and  malevolence — penitent  pleading,  and 
sorrowful  regret — indeed,  all  the  possible  disclo- 
sures of  our  mysterious  nature  you  can  read  in 
the  lines  of  the  countenance  turned  toward  you. 

Here,  therefore,  is  where  souls  come  in  contact. 
They  deal  with  each  other  at  the  face.  "  Iron 
sharpeneth  iron  ;  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  counte- 
nance of  his  friend."  Hence  Scripture  uses  the 
liijure  often.     When  Cain  was  wroth  "  his  counte- 


SECRET   SINS.  l8l 


God's  countenance  is  God's  character.  Chrysostom  s  remark. 

nance  fell. ' '  J  acob  looked  upon  ' '  the  countenance 
of  Laban,  and  behold,  it  -was  not  toward  him  as 
before."  Out  of  this  come  our  common  expres- 
sions in  speech.  We  say  we  "  set  our  faces  as  a 
flint"  to  resist  evil.  "We  say  we  will,  or  will  not, 
"  countenance  '  one  another  in  a  given  behavior. 
And  we  mean  by  this  to  announce  that  we  delib- 
erately desire  our  features  to  be  read,  as  express- 
ing our  silent  opinion.  When  this  same  habit  is 
in  a  trope  transferred  to  God,  we  feel  we  shall 
reach  a  full  understanding-  of  the  words  by  work- 
ing up  through  our  customary  experiences,  till  we 
attain  the  height  of  the  divine  perfection.  God's 
countenance  is  God's  unmistakable  character.  Of 
course,  then,  the  standard  is  supreme. 

All  of  us  are  conscious  of  the  salutary  check  we 
receive,  when  under  the  awe  of  some  notable  per- 
son's presence.  "  The  very  countenance  of  holy 
men,"  said  old  Chrysostom,  "  is  full  of  spiritual 
power."  Coarse  people  instinctively  hush  their 
voices  when  they  enter  the  company  of  those  who 
are  gentle  and  refined.  And  in  regard  to  most 
kinds  of  vice,  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  a 
wicked  person  will  frequently  be  quite  deterred 
for  a  time  from  words  and  deeds  which  he  would 
hardly  ever  consider  shameful  before  his  fellows 
in  sin,  just  by  being  put  into  the  companionship 
of  the  good  and  the  true,  who  he  knows  will  de- 
spise them.  We  rightly  estimate  moral  acts  with 
a  becoming  reference  to  the  presence  we  are  in. 
What  would  be  considered,  possibly,  a  harmless 


l82  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Circumstances  fix  moral  quality.  A  dignified  "  face." 

little  indulgence  in  free  company,  becomes  boor- 
ishness  unpardonable  when  we  are  on  our  best 
behavior  in  state.  That  which  is  a  mere  famil- 
iarity with  our  friend  might  be  a  dangerous  pre- 
sumption with  a  stranger.  The  manner  we  wear 
with  our  equals  must  be  more  sedate  and  respect- 
ful when  we  meet  those  who  are  our  superiors  in 
)-ears  or  in  merit.  So  a  ribald  song,  or  an  inde- 
cent story,  which  i-aised  an  applause  among  roy- 
stering  comrades,  may  give  a  young  man  a  life- 
long regret  and  shame,  when  he  remembers  how 
he  was  betrayed  into  repeating  it  in  better  and 
purer  company,  by  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  an  in- 
discreet hour.  Especially  if  he  recalls  the  sad 
and  sorrov/ful  face  of  some  calm,  venerable  man, 
who  looked  down  upon  him  with  pity. 

Let  this  simple  process  of  illustration  be  carried 
on,  and  you  will  see  that  the  higher  the  exaltation 
of  character,  the  greater  the  guilt — that  is,  the 
baseness  and  wrong  of  a  bad  act  are  aggravated 
by  the  purity  of  the  presence  which  condemns  it. 
There  are  men  and  women  whose  dignity  and 
nobleness  always  seem  to  be  an  encouragement  to 
manliness  and  a  rebuke  to  vile  words  and  deeds. 
And  our  sense  of  shame  tells  us  instinctively  that 
a  wrong  done  intentionally  offensive  to  them  is  a 
wrong  aggravated  with  an  insult. 

Now,  if  you  would  be  at  the  pains  of  looking 
out  those  almost  innumerable  passages  in  the 
Bible  which  speak  of  the  "  countenance"  of  God, 
you   would  find  that  everywhere  this   is   repre- 


SECRET   SINS.  1 83 


The  help  of  a  countenance.  "  Exceeding  sinful." 

sented  as  being  our  choicest  benediction.  God's 
face  has  no  frown  upon  it.  He  is  never  to  be 
thought  of  as  standing  sternly  by,  to  watch  his 
children,  and  frighten  them,  as  they  try  to  be  easy 
and  cheerful.  His  presence  is  more  like  that  of  a 
mother,  who  comes  into  company  to  keep  the 
children's  courage  up.  You  should  accustom 
yourselves  to  regard  God  as  ever  with  a  sweet, 
grave  smile  on  his  face,  looking  upon  you.  Re- 
member the  prayer  of  the  Psalmist:  "Lord,  lift 
thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us." 
Then  remember  his  thanksgiving  :  "  When  thou 
saidst.  Seek  ye  my  face,  my  heart  said  unto  thee. 
Thy  face.  Lord,  will  I  seek.  O  my  soul,  hope 
thou  in  God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him  for  tJie  help 
of  his  countenance ;  I  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is 
the  health  of  my  countenance,  and  my  God  !" 

So  you  can  see  at  a  glance  the  meaning  of  that 
singular  expression  in  one  of  the  epistles  about 
the  exxeeding  sinfulness  of  sin.  The  apostle  tells 
us  that  sin  became  so  "exceeding  sinful,"  be- 
cause it  was  so  palpable  a  perversion  of  our 
mightiest  benediction.  It  was  presuming  upon 
the  very  forbearance  of  divine  love.  To  keep  to 
our  figure,  it  was  as  if  the  guilty  man  chose  the 
chance,  when  God's  countenance  was  before  him 
for  cheer  and  assistance,  to  offer  gratuitous  insult 
as  return  for  favor.  Thus  when  grace  and  justice 
presented  themselves  in  the  holy  and  good  law 
given  to  men  for  any  one  to  disobey  it  was — as  the 
Greek  phrase  runs — "  beyond  hyperbole  sinful  ;" 


l84  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Sin's  abominableness.  God  "  hates"  sin. 

inexpressibly  wicked  ;  inconceivably  malignant 
and  base. 

From  all  these  considerations  it  is  evident  we 
shall  have  to  change  a  great  many  of  our  notions 
as  to  the  nature  of  transgression  and  guilt.  We 
are  to  look  upon  sin  not  as  a  mere  offence  against 
human  enactment,  not  as  a  crime  against  social 
order,  not  as  a  culpable  disregard  of  public  senti- 
ment, not  as  a  mere  blunder  in  good  breeding — 
not  as  bad  taste  or  coarse  conduct.  It  may  be  all 
this,  but  its  inherent  abominableness  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  thing  God  hates.  He  sees  it  all, 
no  matter  how  secret  it  seems.  "  He  that  planted 
the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  He  that  formed  the 
eye,  shall  he  not  see  ?  There  is  no  darkness  nor 
shadow  of  death  where  the  workers  of  iniquity 
may  hide  themselves." 

Furthermore,  we  must  bring  all  sin,  for  its  reg- 
ister of  quality  and  aggravation,  directly  up  before 
God's  countenance.  We  are  to  take  into  consid- 
eration the  dignity  and  exaltation  of  his  person. 
He  never  treats  a  sin  as  an  abstraction  or  an  acci- 
dent. It  is  an  individual  act,  and  is  leveled  at 
him.  Somebody  is  to  blame  for  it.  We  must 
remember,  likewise,  the  absolutely  spotless  char- 
acter of  God.  He  will  not  look  upon  iniquity 
with  any  degree  of  allowance.  We  are  his  creat- 
ures, his  subjects,  his  dependents.  His  power 
rejects  sin  as  weakness.  His  wisdom  rejects  sin 
as  folly.  His  holiness  rejects  sin  as  foulness  and 
defilement.     His  goodness  rejects  sin  as  an  injury 


SECRET   SINS.  185 


Owen's  remark.  God's  paternal  attitude. 

and  harm.  Hi^  truth  is  pledged  that  his  justice 
will  punish  sin  with  horrible  tempests  and  fire. 
His  entire  nature  is  set  irrevocably  against  all 
kinds  of  wickedness.  And  we  are  to  estimate  its 
malignity  by  the  register  he  furnishes.  We  are  to 
set  every  iniquity  in  the  light  of  his  countenance. 
Well  said  the  pious  Owen  :  "  He  that  has  slight 
views  of  sin  never  yet  has  had  great  views  of 
God." 

Of  course,  then,  we  find  ourselves  all  con- 
demned without  exception  and  beyond  all  hope. 
What  remains  ?  Just  here  divine  clemency  enters 
the  field.  God  loads  us  with  extraordinary  ben- 
efits. He  bids  us  instantly  put  away  our  sins,  not 
by  concealing  and  covering  them,  but  by  confes- 
sion of  them.  Promises  and  admonitions  hedge 
up  the  way  to  any  further  outbreak.  Hopes  and 
blessings  adorn  the  path  to  holiness  and  peace. 
Christ  the  Son  of  God  is  sent  to  the  earth  to  make 
an  atonement. 

And  now  to  go  on  in  sin  is  simply  awful.  It  is 
an  offence  against  redeeming  love.  The  most 
wonderful  picture  in  all  the  Bible  seems  to  be  that 
of  a  Being  like  God,  stretching  out  both  his  hands 
in  the  gesture  of  imploring  men  to  come  to  him 
and  be  forgiven.  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked  ;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way 
and  live  ;  turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  wa3"S  ; 
for  why  will  ye  die  ?" 


XVI 
THE    "BENEDICTUS"    OF    ZACHARIAS. 

"  Blessed  BE  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  ;  for  he  hath  visited 

AND  redeemed  HIS  PEOPLE." — Lttkc  I   :  68. 

Almost  every  old  writer  who  has  had  occasion 
to  comment  upon  this  part  of  the  New  Testament 
has  been  arrested  by  the  evident  determination 
to  join  Luke  to  Malachi  in  the  person  of  John 
the  Baptist.  We  have  already  seen  how  Gabriel 
quotes  the  prediction  concerning  Elijah's  return, 
and  applies  it  directly  here  to  this  forerunner  of 
Christ.  And  now  after  Zacharias  has  passed  his 
discipline  of  dumb  silence,  he  suddenly  comes  forth 
with  a  song,  the  meaning  and  the  beauty  of  which 
he  derives  from  that  same  final  chapter  of  the  Old 
Testament.  "  The  dayspring  from  on  high  hath 
visited  us,"  is  only  another  form  of  saying  what 
Malachi  had  said  before  :  "  The  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness shall  arise  with  healing  in  his  wings." 

We  now  enter  upon  the  detailed  study  of  an- 
other New  Testament  psalm,  the  "  Benedictus," 
so  called  from  the  first  word  in  it  which  in  Latin 
means  blessed.  Three  points  of  notice  are  sug- 
gested as  a  sufficient  analysis  for  use  in  the  sermon  : 
the  strangeness  of  this  song-making,  the  spirit  of 
the  exercise,  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  figure. 


THE   "  BENEDICTUS  "    OF  ZACHARIAS.  1 8/ 


Three  great  songs.  The  origin  of  psalms, 

I.  Let  us  recall  the  fact  that  Zacharias  was  not 
alone  in  his  song-making  on  this  extraordinary 
occasion.  It  is  not  wise  to  pass  over  with  only 
the  mention  of  it  a  strange  incident  so  full  of 
significance.  All  these  people  suddenly  became 
imaginative  and  musical ;  and  what  they  produced 
is  actually  of  the  highest  literary  and  devotional 
character.  Mary  sings  the  Magnificat,  Zacharias 
sings  the  Benedictus,  and  Simeon  sings  the  Nunc 
Dimittis.  And  these  three  songs  are  so  fine  that 
the  churches  at  large  have  placed  them  in  their 
liturgies  for  sixty  generations. 

No  one  can  thoughtfully  read  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New  without  observing  that  more 
was  made  of  music  and  poetry  than  we  in  this  day 
are  wont  to  acknowledge.  To  a  people  trained  to 
this  habit  of  improvisation  there  would  be  nothing 
remarkable  in  the  incident  now  under  our  stud3^ 
That  Zacharias  did  poetic  work  at  all  in  this  su- 
preme moment  of  his  existence  would  awake  no 
such  surprise  as  we  attach  to  the  circumstance  ; 
and  that  he  did  it  so  well  would  be  attributed  (as 
it  should  be)  to  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

It  is  significant  that  when  these  persons  had  a 
fresh  theme  of  the  gospel  to  celebrate,  they  felt 
themselves  perfectly  free  to  sing  a  song  which 
should  exactly  befit  and  express  it,  even  if  it 
had  to  be  composed  on  the  instant.  This  was  the 
example  David,  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  had 
set  before  them.  When  he  was  brought  up  out  of 
the  horrible  pit  of  some  convulsing  experience,  and 


1 88  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

There  must  be  new  hymns  always.  The  Queen  of  Scots. 

his  feet  were  again  set  upon  a  rock,  he  said  the 
Lord  "  hath  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth."  So 
here  :  Simeon,  and  Zacharias,  and  Mary,  having 
a  wonderful  experience  of  what  was  exalted  and 
inspiritingbeyond  anything  ever  before  conceived, 
made  a  new  song  to  sing,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
gave  acceptance  and  added  inspiration. 

One  of  the  best  of  our  modern  commentators 
does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  Song  of  Zach- 
arias, like  that  of  Mary,  is  a  charming  echo  from 
the  ancient  lyrical  minstrelsy  of  the  Hebrews.  It 
was  uttered  under  the  immediate  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  marked  by  the  priestly 
character  of  him  who  uttered  it.  That  it  was, 
like  that  of  Mary,  an  actual,  unpremeditated  out- 
burst of  the  rapt  spirit  of  its  author,  is  unquestion- 
able. Preserved,  doubtless,  in  the  familj^  archives, 
or  in  the  family  tradition,  they  became  known  to 
Luke  in  his  minute  inquiries  into  the  events  of 
this  remarkable  epoch.  The  two  inspired  hymns 
are  among  the  most  natural  wonders  of  this  won- 
drous period. 

On  the  night  before  her  execution  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  composed  a  short  prayer,  and  sang  it 
over  by  herself  because  she  could  not  sleep.  The 
words  are  very  musical  in  the  Latin  which  she  used : 

"  O  domine  Deus  !  speravi  in  te  ! 
O  care  mi  Jesu  !  nunc  libera  me  ! 
In  dura  catena — in  misera  poena — 
Desidero  te  ! 
Languendo,  gemendo,  et  genu  flectendo, 
Adoro,  imploro,  ut  liberes  me  !" 


THE   "  BENEDICTUS  "   OF   ZACH ARIAS.  1 89 

Madame  Guyon.  Augustine's  estimate. 

Here  appears  to  be  the  passionate  wish  of  a  cap- 
tive to  escape.  Perhaps  it  will  show  its  sense 
better  in  a  free  translation  into  English  : 

O  Lord  God  Almighty  !  my  hope  is  in  thee  ! 

0  Jesus  beloved,  now  liberate  me  ! 

In  durance  the  drearest,  in  bonds  the  severest — 
My  desire  is  to  thee  ! 
In  sighing  and  crying,  on  bended  knees  lying, 

1  adore — I  implore  thou  wouldst  liberate  me  ! 

When  Madame  Guyon  and  her  faithful  maid 
were  imprisoned,  she  composed  songs  for  her 
comfort.  "  And  then,"  says  she,  "  we  sang  them 
together,  praises  unto  thee,  O  our  God  !  It  some- 
times seemed  to  me  as  if  I  were  a  little  bird,  whom 
the  Lord  had  placed  in  a  cage,  and  that  I  had 
nothing  to  do  now  but  sing  !" 

It  seems  natural  for  any  one  to  spring  into  song 
under  the  stress  of  deep  feeling.  And  when  the 
song  is  fine,  wc  are  eager  to  learn  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  composed.  It  is  more 
than  curiosity  which  prompts  us  to  look  up  the 
experimental  origin  of  certain  favorite  hymns.  To 
a  peculiarly  high  fitness  for  such  an  occasion 
Zacharias  adds  the  gift  of  inspiration. 

It  seems  appropriate  to  quote  just  here  the 
testimony  which  the  great  Augustine  bears  to  the 
excellence  of  Zacharias's  work  upon  this  occasion  : 
"  O  blessed  hymn  of  joy  and  praise  !  divinely  in- 
spired by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  divinely  pro- 
nounced  by  the  venerable  priest,  and  daily  sung 


190  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  spirit  of  song-making.  Peter  Martyr's  letter. 

in  the  Church  of  God  !  Oh,  may  thy  words  be 
often  in  my  mouth,  and  the  sweetness  of  them 
always  in  my  heart  !  The  expressions  thou  usest 
are  the  comfort  of  my  hfe  ;  and  the  subject  thou 
treatest  of,  the  hope  of  all  the  world  !" 

II.  In  the  second  place,  having  seen  that  this 
song-making  for  a  new  experience  is  not  so  very 
strange,  after  all,  let  us  try  to  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  the  exercise.  The  enthusiasm  of  such  an  occa- 
sion is  very  bright  and  cheerful.  "  Is  any  among 
you  merry  ?  Let  him  sing  psalms."  Would  that 
the  study  of  this  lesson  might  set  all  the  wide 
Christian  w^orld  singing  the  Benedictus  to-day  ! 

For  there  is  value  in  a  volume  of  voices,  when 
singing  with  the  spirit  and  understanding  also. 
Bishop  Jewell,  writing  to  Peter  Martyr,  March, 
1560,  says  :  "  Religion  is  now  somewhat  more 
established  than  it  was.  The  people  are  every- 
where exceedingly  inclined  to  the  better  part. 
Ecclesiastical  and  popular  music  has  much  con- 
duced to  this  result.  For  as  soon  as  they  had 
once  commenced  to  sing  publicly  in  only  one  little 
church  in  London,  immediately  not  only  the  other 
neighboring  churches,  but  even  the  towns  far  dis- 
tant, began  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  same 
practice.  At  times  you  may  see  at  Paul's  Cross, 
after  sermon,  six  thousand  persons,  old  and  young, 
of  both  sexes,  singing  together  and  praising  God. 
This  sadly  annoys  the  priests  and  the  devil  ;  for 
they  see  that  by  these  means  the  sacred  discourses 
sink  more  deeply  into  men's  minds,  and  that  their 


THE   "  BENEDICTUS       OF   ZACHARIAS.  I9I 

Strange  choirs.  Christians  on  "  tiptoes." 

kingdom  is  shaken  and  shattered  at  almost  every 
note." 

So  instinctive  and  habitual  was  this  exercise  of 
singing  when  multitudes  were  gathered  together, 
that  all  through  the  Old  Testament  we  find  the 
highest  personifications  of  inspired  Israelitish 
poets  falling  into  musical  form.  Sometimes  they 
offer  to  us  the  suggestion  of  the  queerest  kinds  of 
choirs  : 

"  Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons, 
and  all  deeps  :  fire,  and  hail  ;  snow,  and  vapor  ; 
stormy  wind  fulfilHng  his  word  :  mountains,  and 
all  hills  ;  fruitful  trees,  and  all  cedars  :  beasts, 
and  all  cattle  ;  creeping  things,  and  flying  fowl  : 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  people  ;  princes,  and  all 
judges  of  the  earth  :  both  young  men  and  maid- 
ens ;  old  men,  and  children  :  let  them  praise  the 
name  of  the  Lord  :  for  his  name  alone  is  excel- 
lent ;  his  glory  is  above  the  earth  and  heaven." 

It  would  appear  that  these  ancient  seers  pict- 
ured all  nature  as  on  the  alert,  the  moment  God's 
praise  was  mentioned,  to  burst  forth  into  melody. 
Now  we  may  not  go  so  far  as  to  call  upon  trees  to 
clap  their  hands,  and  fire  and  hail,  dragons  and 
deeps,  to  sing  a  doxology  ;  but  we  assuredly  may 
catch  the  spirit  of  such  poetry,  and  hold  our  own 
hearts  ready  for  the  summons  when  the  hour  of 
praise  comes  in. 

Clemens  Alexandrinus  tells  us  that  the  early 
Christians,  when  the  last  acclamations  of  their 
prayers    were    reached    in    the    public   services, 


192  SERMONS    IN   SONGS. 

William  CuUen  Bryant.  The  Lord  God  "  singing." 

would  raise  themselves  upon  their  tiptoes,  as  if 
they  desired  the  word  "  Amen"  should  carry  up 
their  bodies  as  well  as  their  souls  to  heaven.  This 
makes  us  think  of  Byrant's  exquisite  lines  : 

"  I  look  forth 
Over  the  boundless  blue  ;  where  joyously 
The  bright  crests  of  innumerable  waves 
Glance  lo  the  sun  at  once — as  when  the  hands 
Of  a  great  multitude  are  upward  flung 
In  acclamation  1" 

Two  texts  of  Scripture  there  are  which,  put  to- 
gether, I  think,  are  the  most  wonderful  in  the 
Bible.  They  do  suggest  a  child  lying  in  a  cradle, 
and  a  loving  face  is  bent  over  it,  and  a  sweet  voice 
is  murmuring  above  its  head.  But  I  marvel  with 
inexpressible  surprise  and  adoration  when  I  find 
who  the  Singer  is  and  who  is  the  child.  The  first 
verse  is  found  in  Isaiah  65  :  13  :  "As  one  whom 
his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you." 
The  other  verse  I  find  in  Zephaniah  3:17:"  The 
Lord  thy  God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty  ;  he 
will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy  ;  he 
will  rest  in  his  love  ;  he  will  joy  over  thee  with 
singing."  Oh,  I  have  thought  again  and  again, 
in  my  history,  of  this  picture,  and  I  am  not  too 
proud  to  say  my  eyes  have  filled  with  tears  of 
emotion  as  I  have  tried  to  comprehend  how  the 
eternal  Jehovah  seems  to  sing  beside  one  who 
loves  him,  as  I  remember  my  mother  used  to  sing 
restful  songs  of  comfort  beside  our  bed  on  the  old 
Sabbath  nisfhts  !" 


THE   *'  BENEDICTUS       OF   ZACHARIAS.  I93 

Kacharias'  explicit  theme.  The  "  dayspring." 

III.  So  now  we  come  to  the  explicit  theme  of 
the  Benedictiis,  and  we  have  a  little  time  left  in 
which  to  speak  of  the  matchless  figure  of  speech 
in  which  this  theme  is  cast.  Zacharias  once  turns 
suddenly  to  address  his  song  to  the  infant  which 
his  faith  follows  into  the  distance.  Most  pathetic 
are  his  words,  as  he  imagines  this  little  babe 
grown  up,  and  leading  the  people  to  that  Saviour 
of  whom  he  is  the  appointed  herald  :  "  And  thou, 
child,  shalt  be  called  the  prophet  of  the  Highest." 
But  he  cannot  keep  far  from  his  main  subject, 
which  is  the  coming  of  Mary's  child,  and  not  his 
own. 

In  describing  the  revelation  of  Christ  as  the 
Redeemer  of  men,  he  says  :  "  The  dayspring  from 
on  high  hath  visited  us."  This  splendid  figure  of 
speech  is  taken  from  the  dawn  of  morning  on  the 
night.  And  in  order  to  understand  fully  the 
force  of  the  rhetoric,  we  must  bear  in  mind  one  of 
the  natural  phenomena  of  those  eastern  regions. 

So  pure  is  the  atmosphere  there,  so  far  south, 
that  clouds  in  the  sky  are  not  usual  save  in  the 
rainy  season.  There  seems  really  nothing  to  hin- 
der the  sun's  going  down,  nothing  to  get  in  the 
way  of  his  rising  again.  When  he  sets,  he  goes 
abruptly  behind  the  adjacent  hill  ;  when  he  rises, 
he  comes  up  unannounced,  and  in  a  quick  moment 
is  altogether  on  hand  for  his  daily  work — that  is 
to  say,  there  is  positively  no  twilight,  as  we  de- 
scribe it,  in  those  latitudes.  The  instant  the  day 
reaches  its  natural  close,  the  sun  appears  to  slide 


194  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

No  twilight  in  the  East.  Richter's  remark. 

down  the  sky  without  any  leave-taking.  Just  so 
when  the  dawn  starts.  When  yesterday's  mon- 
arch dismisses  himself,  and  it  is  time  for  to-da3''s 
to  succeed  him,  there  he  is,  unheralded  and 
serenely  unhurried,  calmly  seated  in  his  shining 
pavilion  of  clear  air.  Nothing  surprises  a  tourist 
more  than  this  sudden  change. 

Zacharias  seizes  this  astonishing  figure,  and 
turns  it  to  account.  For  four  centuries  it  had 
been  dark — dark  with  sin,  dark  with  ignorance, 
dark  with  oppression — and  now  in  one  excited  in- 
stant of  disclosure  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  had 
risen  with  healing  in  his  wings.  No  wonder  his 
heart  was  full  ;  no  wonder  his  dumbness  gave 
way,  and  his  glad  voice  lifted  such  a  song  ! 

It  was  long  ago  given  as  a  remark  of  Jean  Paul 
Richter  that  "  mere  music,  without  text,  cannot 
reproduce  anything  immoral."  Cannot  we  go  a 
step  farther  to-day,  and  declare  that  music  with  a 
text  like  that  given  us  here  will  produce  only  that 
which  is  spiritual  in  hope  and  love  ?  Let  us  keep 
singing  on,  and  always  singing  on  about  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high  which  has  visited  us.  The 
light  of  the  gospel  is  a  gleam  of  the  light  of 
heaven.  Oh,  what  will  the  full  splendor  of  its 
noon  be  by  and  by  ?  When  the  Gauls  had  tasted 
the  wine  of  Italy,  they  began  to  ask  where  the 
grapes  grew,  and  they  would  never  be  quiet  till 
they  came  there. 


XVII. 
THE   FIRST  PSALM. 

"  For  the  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous  :  but 

THE  WAY  OF  THE  UNGODLY  SHALL   PERISH." — Psalni  I   :  6. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  volumes  lately 
issued  is  entitled  "  Gates  into  the  Psalm  Coun- 
try." I  venture  to  borrow  its  title  a  moment. 
The  truest  theology,  as  well  as  the  highest  experi- 
ence of  spiritual  life,  finds  its  way  most  swiftly 
and  most  permanently  into  the  hymns  of  the  time  ; 
and  those  periods  in  history  which  are  most  pro- 
lific of  excellent  hymns — hymns  that  stand  use  and 
continue  through  the  ages — are  what  might  be 
called  the  revival  seasons  of  Christendom.  And 
just  so  these  old  Psalms  mark  revival  times. 

For  wisdom,  pithiness,  and  force  religious  lyrics 
are  to  every  church  what  proverbs  are  to  every 
nation.  They  reach  the  high-water  mark  of  pious 
intelligence  and  fervor  of  their  generation  as  a 
record  and  register  of  what  then  could  be  done. 
And  no  one  will  ever  go  sweeping  through  the 
gates  into  the  Psalm  country,  with  an  apprecia- 
tive zest  of  feeling,  until  he  has  learned  to  bear  in 
mind  that  even  these  inspired  songs  were  revival 
songs.  They  were  made  slowly,  and  sifted  severe- 
ly.    It  is  likely  that  many  a  poet  thrust  himself 


196  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Psalms  not  in  the  Psalter.  .Two  "  nors"  and  a  "  not." 

into  notice  who  now  is  utterly  forgotten  ;  and 
many  a  psalm  made  the  Hebrew  language  ring 
sonorously  which  has  now  no  place  in  the  Psalter. 
Only  these  are  retained  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
prompted.  One  hundred  and  fifty  are  given  in 
the  Old  Testament,  and  remain  a  standing  monu- 
ment of  the  best  life  God's  chosen  people  ever 
lived. 

So  much  of  general  remark  I  have  indulged  in 
the  hope  of  aiding  a  little  in  the  external  study  of 
the  book  as  a  whole.  But  my  main  purpose  to- 
day is  the  expository  discussion  of  some  points  in 
the  first  Psalm,  which  is  offered  as  the  lesson  for 
next  Sabbath. 

It  is  undoubtedly  a  sort  of  preface  song,  an  in- 
troduction to  what  comes  after.  As  in  a  fine 
overture  the  musician  appears  seeking  to  give  i:s 
the  key-strain  of  the  work  that  follows,  without 
anticipating  and  so  exhausting  it  by  an  actual 
transcription  of  that  melod}^  on  which  he  relies 
for  his  effect — so  here  the  author  has  indicated 
what  the  whole  Psalter  has  in  charge — namely,  to 
show  an  unfailing  difference  between  two  styles 
of  character  prevalent  for  all  time  among  men  ; 
the  "  godly"  are  "  blessed,"  the  "  ungodly"  are 
— by  a  singular  turn  of  speech — "  not  so,  not  so." 

The  first  surprise  which  will  strike  most  readers 
here  is  undoubtedly  the  negative  form  of  descrip- 
tion employed.  The  whole  instruction  turns 
upon  two  "  nors"  and  a  "  not."  The  righteous 
is  rewarded  for  what  he  does  not  do  :  "  Blessed  is 


THE   FIRST   PSALM,  I97 

"  Oh,  the  blesbednesses  !"  Eight  "  nots"  in  the  Decalogue. 

the  man  that  walketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the 
ungodly,  nor  standeth  in  the  way  of  sinners,  nor 
sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful,"  All  the  char- 
acters mentioned  here  may  have  their  excellences  ; 
the  ungodly  have  their  counsels,  the  sinners  have  a 
pleasant  zvay  with  them,  the  scornful  have  a 
proud  scat  to  sit  in.  They  will  always  invite  un- 
wary ones  to  walk  with  them,  to  stand  with  them, 
to  sit  with  them.  A  wicked  man  may  be  witty  ; 
a  worldly  man  may  be  attractive  ;  a  sinner  may  be 
brilliant.  But  this  verse  says  distinctly,  Blessed 
is  the  soul  which  utterly  rejects  ail  they  have  to 
proffer.  The  language  is  explosive  and  interjec- 
tional — -even  the  word  is  in  the  plural  :  "  Oh,  the 
blessednesses  of  the  man  who  has  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  such  people  !  But  his  delight  is 
in  the  law  of  the  Lord  ;  and  in  his  law  doth  he 
meditate  day  and  night." 

We  shall  lose  much  if  we  do  not  appreciate  the 
exact  force  of  this  scriptural  word  "not."  Of 
the  ten  commandments  in  the  Decalogue,  eight 
are  mere  precepts  with  a  "  not"  in  them.  This 
style  of  speech  indicates  a  fallen  and  ruined  na- 
ture, all  the  activities  of  which  need  sternly  to  be 
resisted.  But  the  inspired  Scriptures  do  not  ex- 
haust themselves  in  simple  repression.  They  offer 
a  positive  life  which  is  worth  an  acceptance.  To 
be  truly  blessed,  this  man  must  delight  in  the  law 
of  God,  and  have  it  for  his  meditation. 

Such  expressions  call  us  back,  with  almost  the 
exact   phraseology,    to  the   day    when  the   Lord 


198  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Mere  book-reading.  God's  thought  of  a  tree. 

gave  charge  to  Joshua  the  new  leader  :  "  This 
book  of  the  law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy 
mouth  ;  but  thou  shalt  meditate  therein  day  and 
night,  that  thou  mayest  observe  to  do  according 
to  all  that  is  written  therein  :  for  then  thou  shalt 
make  thy  way  prosperous,  and  then  thou  shalt 
have  good  success." 

Let  us  understand  that  the  picture  here  sug- 
gested does  not  demand  for  its  centre  figure  a 
man  sitting  stiffly  up  with  a  book  in  his  lap,  en- 
gaged in  perpetual  reading.  It  is  no  business  of 
an  honest  pulpit  to  waste  time  in  rebuking  carica- 
ture. The  meaning  a  sober  interpreter  would 
find  here  is,  that  one  shall  see  God  in  everything. 
Some  sort  of  perusal  of  God's  Word  is  necessary  ; 
but  it  is  no  counsel  of  this  Psalm  that  a  man  shall 
bind  himself  down  literally  to  letter-press  in  the 
night-time  and  through  the  day.  The  law  of  the 
Lord  is  in  his  providence,  in  his  mountains  and 
hills  around  about  Jerusalem,  in  his  rainfalls  and 
sunshines,  in  his  spiritual  presence  and  his  actual 
government,  in  his  sacraments  and  in  his  people. 
God  is  in  all  one's  thoughts  when  he  keeps  finding 
an  idea  of  God  suggested  in  everything  he  sees, 
or  loves,  or  lives.  "  And  he  shall  be  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth 
his  fruit  in  his  season  ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not 
wither  ;  and  whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." 

Now,  the  poetry  begins  ;  for  a  more  exquisite 
image  can  hardly  be  conceived.  "  What  a  thought 
was  that,"  exclaims  the  great  art  critic  Ruskin — 


THE   FIRST   PSALM.  I99 

Jeremiah's  similar  language.  Beside  the  Nile. 

"  what  a  thought  was  that,  when  the  Almighty 
first  thought  of  a  tree  !"  Most  Bible-students 
will  detect  the  similarity  here,  both  of  sentiment 
and  phraseology,  to  that  of  Jeremiah  :  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  ;  Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth 
in  man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and  whose  heart 
departeth  from  the  Lord.  For  he  shall  be  like  the 
heath  in  the  desert,  and  shall  not  see  when  good 
cometh  ;  but  shall  inhabit  the  parched  places  in 
the  wilderness,  in  a  salt  land  and  not  inhabited. 
Blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and 
whose  hope  the  Lord  is.  For  he  shall  be  as  a 
tree  planted  by  the  waters,  and  that  spreadeth  out 
her  roots  by  the  river,  and  shall  not  see  when  heat 
cometh,  but  her  leaf  shall  be  green  ;  and  shall  not 
be  careful  in  the  j^ear  of  drought,  neither  shall 
cease  from  yielding  fruit." 

We  saw  this  brilliant  figure  as  a  literal  fact,  on 
'our  way  to  the  Pyramids  in  1866.  All  along  the 
journey  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  clear  on,  the 
eye  ranged  over  reaches  of  sand,  white  and  wave- 
less,  interminably,  till  it  touched  those  masses  of 
masonry  on  the  Ghizeh  ledge.  Near  the  river  the 
soil  is  wonderfully  prolific,  as  the  black  mould  is 
flung  up  by  the  annual  inundation  ;  but  before  a 
great  while  the  land  begins  to  show  the  force  of 
the  fierce  sun  it  scorches  under.  Deep  seams  and 
broad  cracks  are  discovered  in  the  surface.  Along 
the  banks  tall  palms  shoot  their  stems  up  into  the 
serene  air.  Most  exquisitely  have  they  been  com- 
pared,  knobbed   and    fluted  as   they   are,   to  the 


200  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Knobbed  and  fluted.  The  heath  in  the  desert. 

shafts  of  Moorish  architecture.  From  a  distance 
they  seem  hke  pillars  of  some  forest  mosque  gone 
to  ruin,  while  from  their  summits  droop  the 
graceful  green  plumes  of  living  foliage,  hanging 
listlessly  in  the  windless  sunshine. 

But  now,  looking  in  the  other  direction,  and 
pushing  our  tedious  beasts  along,  we  found  the 
sea  of  sand  closing  in  around  us  entirely  ;  and 
far  as  our  vision  could  reach,  only  one  stretch  of 
verdureless  and  waste  whiteness  could  be  dis- 
cerned. The  last  vestige  of  vegetation  on  the 
verge  of  the  eternal  sand  is  a  little  hard,  wiry 
plant  with  a  star-like  radiate  of  yellow  prickles  all 
about  its  head,  so  horny  and  so  keenly  acute  that 
not  even  the  leanest  kind  of  Pharaoh's  kine  would 
be  persuaded  b}^  starvation  itself  to  browse  upon 
it.  Our  very  donkeys  passed  it  superciliously  by. 
This  weed  is  the  lonesomest,  the  most  desolate, 
most  lean  and  sorrowful  caricature  of  a  flower  1 
ever  saw.  Yet  that  is  the  scriptural  "  heath  in 
the  desert  ;"  and  those  glorious  palms  just  behind 
us,  indolently  sweeping  the  sky  with  their  luxuri- 
ant branches,  are  the  "trees  planted  by  the  wa- 
ters, that  shall  not  see  when  the  heat  cometh." 

Ah  me,  how  fresh  the  palms  seemed  to  us  out 
there  in  the  hot  air  !  One  can  hardl}^  realize  how 
forcible  these  natural  emblems  become  under  the 
contrasted  presence  of  them  both  ;  before  his  own 
open  eyes  the  splendid  plumes  of  the  trees  by  the 
stream  side,  the  emaciated  meagreness  of  that 
heath  out  in  the  sand.      I  found  myself  quoting  the 


THE   FIRST   PSALM.  20I 

A  talk  to  a  tree.  "  Not  so — not  so  !"' 

Psalm,  because  it  was  more  familiar  than  the 
words  spoken  by  Jeremiah.  I  glided  into  a  kind 
of  dreamy  conversation  with  the  tree  and  the 
weed.  I  looked  over  at  one  particular  palm — the 
one  I  have  a  photograph  of  at  home  now,  entitled 
"  Study  of  a  Tree  in  Old  Cairo" — and  talked  to  it 
there  by  myself  with  my  Bible  open  in  my  hand. 
I  said,  "  You  consider  yourself  well  off  here,  set 
down  in  the  richest  meadow  by  the  river  ;  they 
keep  you  close,  however,  it  seems  ;  I  wonder  if 
you  deem  it  a  restriction  ;  you  cannot  be  permit- 
ted to  walk  out  there  in  the  hard  paths  of  the 
desert  ;  it  is  forbidden  for  you  to  stand  in  the  hot 
spot  where  the  heath  is  ;  you  have  no  leave  to  go 
and  sit  on  those  bleak  rocks  with  the  Pyramids  ; 
but  it  appears  as  if  you  had  the  best  chance  of 
all  ;  you  are  established  safely — you  have  been 
planted ;  you  are  nourished  plentifully — you  are 
beside  the  river;  you  are  fruitful,  too — bringing 
to  perfection  your  fruit  in  the  season ;  you  are 
perennial — I  presume  your  leaf  never  withered 
since  you  began  to  grow  ;  you  are  happy  in  all 
the  splendor  of  joyous  tree- life — whatsoever  you 
do  prospers.'' 

And  then  I  turned  to  the  lonesome  little  heath 
in  the  sands,  and  I  remembered  that  three  ver- 
sions of  the  Bible — the  Septuagint,  the  Vulgate, 
and  the  Syriac — repeat  these  words  of  contrast, 
that  the  negative  statement  might  have  intensity  : 
"  Not  so,  the  ungodly,  not  so/"  Then  I  went  on 
talking:  to  the  weed.     And  I  said  :   "  Whatsoever 


202  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  talk  to  the  heath.  Analogies  of  chaff. 

the  tree  has,  just  that  you  never  had  ;  you  were 
not  planted — you  have  no  rights  anywhere  ;  you 
are  not  nourished — you  are  out  in  a  waterless 
waste  ;  you  are  not  fruitful — you  scarcely  can 
live  from  season  to  season  ;  you  are  not  welcome — 
your  leaf  is  withered  into  a  dryness  that  not  a  fly 
could  find  shadow  under  it  ;  you  have  no  promise 
of  a  future — nothing-  about  you  seems  to  prosper  ; 
there  is  no  charm  in  the  look  of  you,  no  comfort 
in  staying  where  you  belong  ;  the  palm  is  good 
company — not  so  the  heath,  not  so  !" 

Thus  we  reach  the  turn  in  the  Psalm,  and  the 
turn  of  the  description,  and  the  turn  of  the  figure 
also.  From  the  consideration  of  the  righteous 
man,  the  Psalmist  passes  to  the  description  of  an- 
other style  and  type  of  character  :  "  The  ungodly 
are  not  so  :  but  are  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind 
driveth  away." 

The  analogies  of  chaff,  as  a  symbol  of  wicked 
men,  are  singularly  striking.  Of  itself,  chaff  is 
totally  valueless  ;  no  service  has  ever  been  found 
to  which  it  could  be  put.  It  is,  in  vegetable  life, 
the  mere  envelope  of  each  grain  of  wheat.  It  lies 
just  next  to  the  kernel  ;  but  only  the  kernel  is 
ever  looked  after.  No  thrifty  farmer  will  even  so 
much  as  leave  it  around.  If  it  is  not  soon  blown 
away  from  the  threshing-floor,  it  is  gathered  to  be 
burned  idly  in  heaps  ;  and  then  it  is  the  ashes 
which  are  blown  away  finally. 

Moreover,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better 
simile  than  is  offered  here  of  such  instability  of 


y 


THE   FIRST   PSALM.  203 

Inevitable  drifting.  Where  does  chaff  go  ? 

character,  that  has  no  real  foundation  of  good. 
There  is  a  necessary  drifting-  of  this  lawless  stuff 
before  the  winds  of  passion,  or  the  winds  of  pop- 
ular opinion,  or  the  winds  of  human  prejudice. 
Outside  forces  carry  away  into  a  hopeless  scatter- 
ing the  soul  which  has  no  force  of  its  own.  Ex- 
ternal companionships  and  internal  lusts  join  to 
render  it  fickle. 

Whither  does  the  wind  blow  the  chaff  it  finds  in 
its  way  ?  Oh,  who  knows,  and  who  cares  ?  Any- 
where— anywhere — out  of  your  sight  !  But  if  you 
ask  whither  does  the  wind  blow  spiritual  chaff,  the 
New  Testament  gives  answer,  that  they  shall  be 
punished  with  "  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 
power."  No  figure  in  the  Bible  is  laid  hold  of 
oftener  in  the  midst  of  impassioned  descriptions 
than  this  ;  the  suddenness  of  a  sinner's  vanishing 
away,  and  the  utterness  of  his  disappearance, 
seem  to  be  the  two  thoughts  on  which  the  inspired 
writers  dwell  repeatedly  ;  and  the  simile  they  use 
is  that  of  the  tree  and  the  chaff.  "  Wherefore  do 
the  wicked  live,  become  old,  yea,  are  mighty  in 
power  ?  Their  seed  is  established  in  their  sight 
with  them,  and  their  offspring  before  their  eyes. 
They  spend  their  days  in  wealth,  and  in  a  moment 
go  down  to  the  grave.  Therefore  they  say  unto 
God,  Depart  from  us  ;  for  we  desire  not  the 
knowledge  of  thy  wa3^s.  What  is  the  Almightv, 
that  we  should  serve  him  ;  and  what  profit  should 
we  have,  if  we  pray  unto  him  ?     Lo,  their  good  is 


204  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  candle  of  the  wicked.  A  green  bay-tree. 

not  in  their  hand  :  the  counsel  of  the  wicked  is  far 
from  me.  How  oft  is  the  candle  of  the  wicked 
put  out  ?  and  how  oft  cometh  their  destruction 
upon  them  ?  God  distributeth  sorrows  in  his 
anger.  They  are  as  stubble  before  the  wind,  and 
as  chaff  that  the  storm  carrieth  away." 

Oh,  why  will  not  men  ponder  these  things  ! 
How  small  a  Bible  David  had,  at  the  time  when 
he  wrote  this  psalm  ;  and  yet  he  talked  about 
meditating  upon  it  day  and  night.  The  truest 
style  of  piety  is  that  which  is  Christ-like,  and  the 
most  trustworthy  religion  is  that  which  is  Bible- 
grounded.  And  each  of  these  is  reached  by 
study,  and  is  rendered  possible  by  grace.  Only 
people  refuse  to  give  thought  to  what  concerns 
them  most  ;  the  tree  grows  in  the  night  as  well  as 
in  the  day  ;  7iot  so,  the  nngodly,  not  so !  How 
vividly  such  images  are  presented  by  these  in- 
spired poets  in  the  other  Psalms  :  "  I  have  seen 
the  wicked  in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself 
like  a  green  bay-tree.  Yet  he  passed  away,  and 
lo,  he  was  not  :  yea,  I  sought  him,  but  he  could 
not  be  found.  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold 
the  upright  :  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace. 
But  the  transgressors  shall  be  destroyed  together  : 
the  end  of  the  wicked  shall  be  cut  off." 

At  this  point  the  Psalm  before  us  changes  form. 
There  is  an  excited  and  rapid  urging  forward  of 
each  thought.  Over  the  bounds  of  this  dispensa- 
tion, across  the  line  that  separates  two  worlds  of 
experience,  we  find  ourselves  hurried  in  order  to 


THE   FIRST   PSALM.  205 

''  The  Lord  knoweth."  Carlyle's  question. 

reach  results  as  they  congeal  into  changeless  des- 
tiny :  "  Therefore  the  ungodly  shall  not  stand  in 
the  judgment,  nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of 
the  righteous."  Here  that  word  "judgment" 
falls  on  our  ears  ;  and  we  learn  all  we  need  to 
know  concerning  the  grand  gathering  of  the  elect 
of  God  in  which  no  one  else  has  any  part.  And 
in  just  that  delineation  of  a  final  settlement  comes 
the  image  of  the  chaff  to  view  again  ;  the  judge 
himself  becomes  a  witness  :  "  For  the  Lord  know- 
eth the  way  of  the  righteous  :  but  the  way  of  the 
ungodly  shall  perish."  We  are  told  elsewhere 
that  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his.  It  is 
plain,  therefore,  that  he  knows  all  the  race  at 
once.  He  makes  us  understand  that  he  does  not 
propose  to  wait  through  any  tedious  process  of 
calling  testimony  to  decide  whether  a  heap  of 
chaff  may  not  possibly  be  a  living  tree,  after  all. 
No;   "  The  Lord  knoweth." 

On  the  human  side,  then,  the  history  of  the 
wicked  man  comes  to  an  end  ;  "  the  way  of  the 
ungodly"  perishes,  the  trail  is  lost,  the  rivulet 
dries  up,  the  channel  grasses  over,  silence  suc- 
ceeds. The  name  of  the  righteous  is  held  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance,  but  not  so,  the  ungodly,  not 
so  ;  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot  ! 

But  now,  on  the  side  which  is  not  human,  man 
dieth  and  wasteth  away,  and  where  is  he  ? 
Thomas  Carlyle,  not  interested  in  some  after- 
dinner  speeches  which  were  going  on  around  the 
table    where   a   great   company   of   scholars    sat, 


2o6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Where  do  sinners  go  ?  *  Chaff  is  burned  up. 

turned  suddenly  to  a  sceptical  wiseacre  sitting 
next  to  him,  and  asked  in  a  rough  whisper, 
"  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me  your  opin- 
ion as  to  the  exact  place  where  wicked  people 
really  do  go  after  death  ?"  What  the  answer  was 
is  not  given  ;  but  the  question  was  sharp,  and  yet 
modest.  Where  do  unconverted  men  and  women 
go  after  they  die  ?  ISIight  it  not  be  quite  interest- 
ing to  read  over  what  God's  Word  has  to  reply  to 
this?  "For  behold,  the  day  cometh,  that  shall 
burn  as  an  oven  ;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all 
that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  stubble  :  and  the  day 
that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them  neither  root  nor 
branch.  But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  his 
wings  ;  and  ye  shall  go  forth,  and  grow  up  as 
calves  of  the  stall.  And  ye  shall  tread  down  the 
wicked  ;  for  they  shall  be  ashes  under  the  soles  of 
your  feet  in  the  day  that  I  shall  do  this,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts.  Whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he 
will  thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and  gather  his 
wheat  into  the  garner  ;  but  he  will  burn  up  the 
chaff  with  unquenchable  fire." 


XVIII. 
GETTING  RID  OF  STRANGE  CHILDREN. 

"  Rid  me,  and  deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  strange  chil- 
dren, WHOSE  MOUTH  SPEAKETH  VANITY,  AND  THEIR  RIGHT  HAND 
IS  A  RIGHT  HAND  OF  FALSEHOOD  :  THAT  OUR  SONS  MAY  BE  AS 
PLANTS  GROWN  UP  IN  THEIR  YOUTH  ;  THAT  OUR  DAUGHTERS  MAY 
BE    AS     CORNER-STONES,    POLISHED     AFTER    THE     SIMILITUDE     OF    A 

PALACE." — Psalm  144  :  11,  12. 

Just  now  we  happen  to  hear  much  concerning 
the  troLiblesomeness  of  children.  They  get  the 
nickname  of  "  responsibihties. "  It  may  seem  a 
poor,  commonplace  thought  to  introduce  here, 
but  it  is  frightfully  practical  ;  how  difficult  it  is  to 
rent  a  house  or  to  engage  summer  board  for  a 
family  that  contains  boys  and  girls  !  It  is  rather 
considered  that  they  are  quite  in  the  way  by  some 
who  expect  to  be  counted  as  refined  people,  even 
by  some  who  come  regularly  to  communion  as 
the  followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  what  must  one 
think  of  an  incident  like  that  recorded  in  the  life 
of  the  Master  ? 

"  And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  him,  and 
set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said,  Verily  I 
say  unto  you,  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  be- 
come as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever  therefore  shall 
humble  himself  as  this  little  child,   the  same  is 


2o8  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Stumbling-stones  and  millstones.  Ancient  usages. 

greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  whoso 
shall  receive  one  such  little  child  in  my  name, 
receiveth  me.  But  whoso  shall  offend  one  of 
these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it  were 
better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about 
his  neck,  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth 
of  the  sea." 

Perhaps  it  is  as  well  for  us  to  learn  the  lesson  at 
once,  so  that  we  might  accept  the  statement  which 
the  words  of  the  Saviour  would  teach — namely, 
that  little  children  are  the  true  wards  of  the 
church,  and  ou^ht  to  be  welcomed,  cherished, 
and  valued  highly. 

I.  No  one  while  reading  the  Old  Testament 
history  can  have  failed  to  observe  how  carefully 
children  were  noticed,  and  how  providentially 
their  wants  were  forestalled. 

Counsels  without  number  are  given  with  refer- 
ence to  all  the  younger  members  of  the  families. 
They  were  to  be  solemnly'  dedicated  under  a  pre- 
scribed ordinance.  They  were  to  be  trained  in 
all  the  matters  of  the  ceremonial  law.  Historical 
and  commemorative  festivals  were  to  be  explained 
to  their  understanding,  so  as  to  be  fixed  in  their 
intelligent  recollection.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  come  under  the  contaminating  influences  which 
nurses  of  a  different  religion  might  possibly  exert. 
As  soon  as  the}^  could  speak,  the}'  were  taught  to 
repeat  sentences  from  the  Scriptures.  In  the 
schools  the  law  of  Moses  formed  one  of  their 
common  text-books.     A  sort  of  degree  was  to  be 


GETTING   RID   OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN,        209 

Putting  on  manhood.  Jesus'  childhood. 

taken  at  thirteen  years  old,  and  they  received  there- 
after the  names  of  "  sons  of  the  commandment." 
And  the  settled  rule  in  the  Jewish  nation  was  that 
as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  walk  up  Mount 
Moriah  by  holding  on  to  their  fathers'  hands,  they 
were  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  keep  their  first  passover. 

All  along  their  growing  years  until  they  were 
mature,  they  were  held  under  strictest  guardian- 
ship ;  and,  at  the  last,  when  one  had  passed  out  of 
boyhood,  he  was  brought  officially  before  ten  of 
the  picked  men,  and  by  legal  act  was  thrown  on 
his  own  responsibility,  his  parents  on  that  occa- 
sion soberly  laying  off  the  charge  of  their  cove- 
nant, and  thankmg  God  that  they  had  been  spared 
to  complete  his  education  and  now  offer  him  to 
God  and  the  nation. 

II.  Nor  under  the  New  Testament  do  we  find 
that  this  definite  care  of  the  young  was  in  any  de- 
gree diminished.  Jesus'  early  history  in  Nazareth 
affords  a  most  pertinent  example  of  parental  faith- 
fulness under  many  discouraging  circumstances. 
And  in  his  after  life,  when  the  burden  of  his  min- 
istry was  upon  him,  over  and  over  again  he  mani- 
fested publicly  the  interest  he  felt  in  all  of  tender 
years.  Nowhere  in  his  history  does  he  commend 
himself  and  his  gospel  so  much  to  our  hearts  as 
when  we  find  him  taking  children  in  his  arms  to 
bless  them.  The  apostles  received  from  him  an 
unmistakable  teaching  in  this  direction,  and  their 
epistles  are  crowded  with  counsels  concerning  the 
care  of  the  young. 


2IO  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

David's  prayer.  Only  a  living  cry. 

Now,  what  does  all  this  mean  ?  Is  it  not  God's 
own  way  of  manifesting  how  much  in  earnest  he 
was  when  he  made  his  inspired  servant  of  old  say, 
"  Children  are  an  heritage  from  the  Lord  "  }  He 
has  certainly  intended  that  his  people  should 
cherish  no  more  cordial  wish,  and  utter  no  more 
tender  prayer,  than  that  of  David  in  the  best  part 
of  his  history  :  '  Rid  me  and  deliver  mc  from  the 
hand  of  strange  children,  whose  mouth  speaketh 
vanity,  and  their  right  hand  is  a  hand  of  false- 
hood ;  that  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up 
in  their  3^outh,  that  our  daughters  may  be  as 
corner-stones  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace." 

III.  So  we  reach  the  easy  inference  that  every 
child  is  a  gift  from  God  ;  a  valuable  gift,  a  gift 
which  the  Giver  himself  prizes  highly,  and  expects 
to  be  sincerely  respected. 

And  why  should  he  not  ?  Think  a  moment  : 
what  is  a  child  ?  It  seems  a  feeble,  miserable 
bundle  of  wants  and  wailings.  For  it  has  only 
one  medium  of  communication  with  the  external 
world.  A  single  articulation  remains  as  the  sign 
of  its  wonderfully  mysterious  life  and  immortal- 
ity ;  it  can  do  nothing  intelligible  but  cry.  Its 
unappreciated  voice  has  no  cadence,  no  modula- 
tion, no  varying  mood.  It  can  only  weep,  and 
moan,  and  murmur.  Its  entire  gamut  consists  of 
notes  of  discomfort,  and  the  scale  of  its  music  is 
minor.  All  its  vocabulary  is  cast  upon  the  regis- 
ters of  pain. 


GETTING   RID    OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN.        211 

A  child's  possibilities.  Capabilities  and  susceptibilities. 

But  remember  that  child's  possibilities.  See 
how  biography  lies  knotted  up  in  that  twisted 
little  hand.  See  how  history  will  work  itself  out 
from  under  the  involutions  of  that  insignificant 
forehead.  Picture  the  revelations  of  the  future  ; 
for  something  of  importance  was  added  to  the 
resources  of  the  world  on  the  day  that  small 
being  was  born.  There  are  ten  more  fingers 
to  weave  in  this  planet's  intricate  work  ;  there 
are  two  more  feet  to  be  henceforth  busily  going 
on  human  errands  ;  there  is  one  more  tongue 
to  fill  the  air  with  the  accents  of  omnipotent 
speech. 

Think  also  of  each  child's  capabilities.  There 
are  undeveloped  powers  of  mind  now  silent  and 
dormant  in  that  plastic  brain.  Perhaps,  if  one 
were  to  search,  he  would  find  somewhere  an  artis- 
tic skill  with  the  pencil,  or  a  musical  success  with 
the  keys,  in  the  muscles  and  the  gifts  now  so  far 
out  of  sight.  It  is  wonderful  to  imagine  how 
much  one  feeble  infant  will  by  and  by  be  able  to 
do  of  evil,  or  of  good. 

Recollect  likewise  that  child's  susceptibilities. 
The  full  measure  of  what  any  human  being  can 
suffer  or  can  enjoy  remains  as  yet  locked  in  the 
secret  issues  of  even  a  babe's  existence.  When 
the  waves  of  the  years  come  rocking  on  under  it, 
and  the  surroundings  of  present  home-life  are 
broken  up,  then  it  must  perforce  advance  into  the 
toil  and  turmoil  of  the  world  ;  and  some  of  us 
know   where  the  stings  are   which  will  reach  it, 


212  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  martyr  Ignatius.  Moses  in  the  ark. 

and  where  the  sweet  privileges  lie  which  will  give 
it  a  new  song  ;  and  some  of  us  do  not. 

Once  our  Lord  stood  holding  a  little  boy  by  the 
hand,  while  he  preached  to  his  disciples  about 
humility.  Ecclesiastical  tradition  has  said  that 
the  lad  grew  up  to  be  the  martyr  Ignatius,  who 
was  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the  Coliseum  at 
Rome.  How  glorious  was  the  gladness  he  felt  in 
his  Saviour,  and  how  terrible  was  the  pain  he 
experienced  when  the  roar  was  heard,  and  the 
teeth  of  the  ravenous  creatures  were  tearing  his 
limbs  in  pieces  !  But  who  could  have  dreamed 
of  such  a  thing  when  the  fair  child  stood  there 
unconsciously  serving  the  Master  for  an  exquisite 
text  ? 

IV.  Hence,  each  infant  is  to  be  estimated,  when 
one  would  rightly  register  its  value,  by  its  future, 
and  not  by  its  present  show.  The  secret  lies 
here  :  "  For  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

We  have  been  just  lately  studying  the  transfig- 
uration scene.  One  of  the  attendants  of  Jesus 
there,  radiant  with  glistering  glory,  was  within  a 
remembered  period  down  in  the  water  of  the  river 
Nile,  an  outlaw  slave-child  in  an  ark  of  bulrushes. 
Our  imagination  pictures  him  when  he  was 
watched  only  by  the  eyes  of  one  little  Hebrew 
girl  ;  and  it  is  still  an  undecided  question  whether 
Miriam  or  Moses  was  the  most  exposed  to  peril. 
But  the  lad  went  up  to  the  king's  palace  ;  learned 
all  there  was  to  know  in  Egyptian  lore  ;  and  be- 
came   the  leader  and  lawgiver  of  God's  people. 


GETTING   RID   OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN.       21 3 

"  Ordering"  a  child.  Scraps  of  paper. 

Afterward  he  marched  through  the  wilderness, 
smiting  rocks  for  water,  and  defeating  foes  with 
holding  up  his  hands.  Then  he  disappeared  for 
fifteen  centuries,  until  now  he  came  down  from 
heaven  to  talk  with  Elijah  about  the  old  story  of 
the  cross.  So  we  know  he  still  is  alive,  and  will 
show  himself  again  in  the  infinite  ages  after  the 
world  is  burned,  and  when  they  sing  Moses'  song 
and  the  Lamb's. 

It  is  wise  to  look  thoughtfully  upon  each  young 
child  while  it  waits  for  its  growth,  and  remember 
it  is  contemporaneous  with  God.  If  it  be  our 
child — ours  to  love,  or  ours  to  teach — let  us  ask 
the  old  question  :  "  How  shall  we  order  the 
child?"  If  it  be  the  child  of  another,  then  still 
let  us  ask  the  question  how  its  future  can  be  made 
valuable. 

V.  It  must  be  very  melancholy  to  lose  a  child, 
then,  by  simple  neglect.  We  lose  in  the  same 
moment  all  there  might  have  been  in  its  history. 

When  I  was  last  in  the  East  I  asked  my  drago- 
man whether  the  saying  I  had  heard  quoted  so 
often  was  true,  that  the  Mohammedans  gather 
carefully  every  scrap  of  paper,  because  possibly 
the  name  of  God  may  be  written  upon  it.  He 
answered  that  no  good  Mussulman  would  ever  set 
his  foot  on  a  flying  slip  or  sheet,  but  would  pick 
it  up  and  examine  it,  if  he  had  time.  And  if  he 
found  it  to  be  without  any  inscription,  I  contin- 
ued, would  he  have  the  same  care  about  it  ? 
"Yes,"  he  replied,  "for  he  would  say  to  him- 


214  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  name  of  Immanuel.  The  army  on  the  Alps. 

self,  God's  name  can  perhaps  be  written  upon  it 
now,  or  by  and  by." 

I  find  myself  thinking  of  this  same  thing  many  a 
time  as  these  waifs  of  the  street  pass  me  in  daily 
life.  Who  knows  that  the  name  of  Immanuel  is 
not  written  on  any  given  child's  forehead  ?  And 
even,  if  confessedly  not,  who  knows  but  it  may 
be,  with  the  divine  blessing,  written  there  here- 
after ?  I  confess  I  am  surprised  at  the  compara- 
tive success  of  mere  humanitarian  efforts  over  gos- 
pel efforts  for  the  young.  They  are  not  always 
easier.  I  would  not  have  the  former  less,  but  the 
latter  more. 

The  great  world  around  will  give  money  in  full 
measure  for  summer  excursions  up  the  river  ;  but 
chapels  languish,  mission  schools  lie  heav}',  and 
real  religious  work  goes  hard.  It  seems  as  if 
some  Christians  could  be  moved  to  sympathy 
more  easily  over  children's  bodies  than  over  their 
souls.  The  other  day  I  read  aloud  just  a  little 
tale  from  French  history,  and  half  my  listeners 
were  in  tears  at  the  end. 

It  was  only  this  :  One  time,  when  the  army  of 
Italy  was  crossing  the  Alps,  threescore  or  more 
years  ago,  on  that  famous  expedition  with  which 
all  adventurous  history  rings,  a  nameless  drum- 
mer-boy was  swept  from  the  ranks  by  the  sudden 
dash  of  an  avalanche,  hurrying  him  down  into  a 
deep  hollow,  lined  with  never- dissolving  snow, 
such  as  frequently  lies  along  among  those  desolate 
mountains.     Singularly  enough,  he  was  not  seri- 


GETTING   RID   OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN.        21 5 

A  drummer-boy  lost.  What  was  one  lad  ? 

ously  injured  by  the  plunge  ;  he  had  slipped  and 
slid  over  the  crust  of  ice,  and  his  light  body  had 
met  very  few  bruises,  and  no  blows  that  were 
fatal. 

He  clambered  up  to  the  top  of  the  mass,  and 
waved  his  hand  aloft  to  show  that  he  was  alive. 
Along  the  giddy  brink,  two  hundred  feet  above, 
the  advancing  train  slowly  and  wearily  filed  on. 
His  drum  still  hung  suspended  from  his  neck.  It 
could  not  be  said  just  which  he  intended,  to  keep 
his  blood  warm  or  to  attract  the  notice  of  the 
men,  but  he  began  to  beat  the  military  calls  and 
changes  to  which  he  had  been  trained.  In  that 
clear,  frosty  air  sound  goes  to  an  almost  incredible 
distance.  Every  stroke  of  the  tattoo,  the  reveille, 
the  advance,  the  charge,  was  heard  by  every 
soldier  that  marched  on  ;  they  commented  admir- 
ingly upon  the  pluck  of  the  brave  little  musician, 
v/ho  patiently  kept  his  sticks  flying. 

Of  course  the  path  up  the  mountain-side  zig- 
zags, in  order  to  rise  over  the  immense  acclivity. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  for  a  while  the  v.'^hole 
army  would  be  out  of  sight,  and  then  return 
again,  near  in  line,  but  farther  up  the  steep.  Clear 
and  echoing  floated  up  that  rattling  drum-beat  on 
their  ears.  Hardy  veterans  there  were,  who  wept 
as  the  hours  passed  and  they  perceived  they  were 
leaving  the  poor  boy  behind.  No  command 
seemed  likely  to  come  now  for  any  effort  to  save 
his  life.  Word  had  already  been  sent  to  the  em- 
peror, but  he  had  decided  to  leave  the  lad  where 


2l6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

His  own  funeral  march.  The  grave  of  ice. 

he  was.  What  was  one  single  drummer-boy  to 
the  army  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ?  And  before 
long  it  became  evident  that  so  the  lad  understood 
it  likewise. 

He  redoubled  his  activity.  Natural  fear  of 
freezing  stimulated  him  for  a  short  time  to  re- 
newed exertions,  and  he  vigorovisly  plied  his  arms 
to  keep  his  life-pulses  warm.  Far  along  the  thin, 
bright  ridge  above  him  he  saw  the  vanishing  col- 
umns growing  fainter.  At  last  he  knew  they  did 
not  intend  to  give  him  rescue.  Then,  brave  in 
the  midst  of  absolute  despair,  he  suddenly  changed 
the  brisk  relief-call  he  had  been  beating  to  a 
strain  sadder  and  of  a  deeper  meaning.  He 
paused  a  few  moments,  then  began  a  funeral 
march.  They  all  heard  those  sober  strokes  of 
death  in  the  cold  air,  but  could  give  no  heed. 

It  can  be  well  understood  that  every  father  of  a 
son  at  home  among  that  vast  host  yearned  over 
the  lad  with  deep  suffering  of  agony  that  was 
almost  stifling.  For  as  he  saw  the  courageous 
endurance,  and  finally  the  heroic  surrender,  when 
the  tired  boy  at  last  decently  composed  his  limbs 
on  the  snowy  bank  to  die,  with  the  frost  for  his 
shroud  and  the  falling  night  for  his  pall,  he  shud- 
dered to  think  this  lost  lad  might  have  been  his 
own. 

Since  that,  for  many  a  year — so  the  romancers 
of  those  days  tell  us — the  veterans  of  the  Italian 
campaign  have  hushed  their  voices  at  the  camp- 
fires  as  they  told  the  tale  of  the  drummer-boy  of 


GETTING   RID    OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN.        21/ 

Only  a  child  !  "  Sons  of  aliens." 

the  Alps,  and  thought  of  the  silent  solitudes  where 
now  his  slender  body  lay  frozen  beside  his  drum. 

Only  a  child  !  yet  children  have  souls.  Souls 
are  more  than  bodies.  Immortal  life  is  more  than 
temporal.  Yet  the  calm  world  marches  on,  as  if 
empires  hung  on  the  balance  of  a  moment,  and 
even  the  drum-beat  of  a  soul  calling  for  help 
need  not  be  heeded  or  heard. 

VI.  We  are  ready,  therefore,  to  come  straight 
to  the  prayer  in  the  text.  If  any  Christian  parent 
wishes  that  his  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up  in 
their  youth,  that  his  daughters  may  be  as  corner- 
stones, polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace, 
he  must  make  himself  to  be  rid  and  delivered 
from  the  hand  of  strange  children,  whose  mouth 
speaketh  vanity,  and  whose  right  hand  is  a  right 
hand  of  falsehood. 

The  real  words  of  this  verse  are  "  the  sons  of 
aliens  ;"  what  is  meant  is,  that  those  kept  coming 
in  among  the  children  of  God's  people  who  were 
outsiders,  uninstructed,  coarse,  and  vicious. 

David  prayed  to  be  rid  of  them  so  as  to  avoid 
their  contaminating  influence.  Twice  does  he 
repeat  his  prayer  in  this  same  psalm.  And  it  be- 
comes serious  now  ;  how  can  we  in  our  day 
accomplish  the  same  purpose  ?  There  seem  to  be 
only  three  ways  possible  :  we  can  let  them  die, 
we  can  deport  them  bodily  out  of  the  city,  we  can 
educate  and  convert  them  ;  which  of  these  is  best  ? 

1 .  As  for  letting  them  die,  that  is  easy  enough. 
They  have  bad  air  in  this  great  town  of  ours,  not 


21 3  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  waif's  fight  for  life.  Organized  deportation. 

much  water,  close  lodgings,  and  hereditary  vice 
to  help  along  the  slow  processes  of  nature,  and  so 
they  perish  as  fast  as  is  safe  without  raising  the 
cry  of  murder  against  officials  in  what  are  called 
the  "  charities"  of  the  city.  The  fight  which  a 
poor  infant  has  to  make  in  New  York  for  bare  life 
would  be  pitiable  if  any  one  would  stop  long 
enough  to  see  the  thing  through. 

But  is  this  the  best  way  to  be  rid  of  strange 
children  ?  Is  it  with  street  Arabs,  as  some  say  it 
is  with  the  tribes  of  red  men  on  the  reserves  of 
the  Government — "  the  only  good  Indian  is  a 
dead  Indian"  ?  Why,  there  is  vast  value  in  chil- 
dren if  the}^  only  grow  up  to  be  able-bodied  men. 
And  then,  is  it  a  very  pleasant  thing  to  think  of, 
that  at  the  day  of  judgment  some  one  will  be 
making  inquisition  for  blood,  and  asking  very  sol- 
emnly, "  Who  slew  all  these  ?" 

2.  It  is  better  to  deport  them  out  of  the  city, 
then,  you  answer  ;  to  send  them  bodily  away 
where  they  can  have  a  better  chance,  both  physi- 
cally and  spiritually.  There  are  Associations 
whose  patrons  would  agree  with  you  in  that. 
They  have  sent  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  to 
Western  homes  and  Eastern.  Thus  they  have  re- 
lieved the  city,  and  saved  the  children  for  good. 

But  this  will  not  do  for  every  case.  Some  poor 
parents  there  are  who  love  their  offspring  with  a 
blind  fondness  very  much  resembling  our  own  for 
our  children.  They  are  not  williug  to  part  with 
them.     And  then,  also,  some  of  the  children  are 


GETTING   RID   OF   STRANGE   CHILDREN.       2ig 

A  wise  suggestion  from  "  Lacon."  Give  the  children  a  chance. 

too  young  to  go  now,  and  the  ruin  will  be  con- 
summated if  we  wait  for  them  to  get  grown  up. 

3.  Are  you  not  ready  now  to  say,  in  the  third 
place,  save  those  who  can  be  kept  alive,  send  off 
into  Christian  homes  those  who  can  and  will  go, 
and  then  take  the  rest  in  God's  name  into  schools, 
and  into  refuges,  and  into  hope  and  salvation  by 
the  grace  of  Christ  ? 

It  was  a  wise  remark  of  the  author  of  "  Lacon," 
made  long  ago  :  "  Subtract  from  a  great  man  all 
that  he  owes  to  opportunity,  and  all  that  he  owes 
to  chance  ;  all  that  he  has  gained  by  the  wisdom 
of  his  friends,  and  the  folly  of  his  enemies  ;  and 
our  Brobdingnag  will  often  become  a  Lilliputian.  " 
These  "strange  children"  ought  to  have  given  to 
them  some  sort  of  chance  in  the  world.  Educate 
them,  train  them,  care  for  them.  It  is  not  the 
children  that  we  need  to  get  rid  of,  but  the 
strangeness  of  them  ;  and  that  will  be  attained 
when  Christ  calls  them  "  friends." 

Oh,  this  does  two  of  the  finest  things  conceiv- 
able, and  does  them  at  once  by  the  same  supreme 
act.  It  rids  us  of  the  lies  of  the  strange  children, 
by  stopping  the  lying,  and  it  helps  some  poor 
troubled  people,  who  could  not  do  it  without  us, 
to  raise  their  children  up  till  they  look  like  ours, 
and  shine  "as  corner-stones  polished  after  the 
similitude  of  a  palace  !" 


XIX. 

"UNDER    HIS   SHADOW." 

"  I  SAT  DOWN  UNDER  HIS  SHADOW  WITH  GREAT  DELIGHT." — Sol- 

omon's  Song  2:3. 

You  know  that  in  the  figurative  language  of 
Solomon's  Song,  by  the  Spouse  is  to  be  under- 
stood the  Church,  or  the  Soul  of  each  individual 
believer,  and  by  the  Beloved,  the  Saviour.  So  in 
the  verse  from  which  the  text  is  taken  are  set 
forth  the  charms  of  Christ  as  the  object  of  every 
obedient  Christian's  love.  The  Bride  seems  to 
be  picturing  herself  as  reclining  in  an  orchard, 
surrounded  by  all  which  in  that  oriental  land 
could  enliven  the  senses.  She  presents  her  chosen 
Friend  to  our  imagination  as  a  tree,  and  says  she 
found  in  him  refreshment  and  regalement.  She 
sings  :  "  As  the  apple-tree  among  the  trees  of  the 
wood,  so  is  my  beloved  among  the  sons.  I  sat 
down  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight,  and 
his  fruit  was  sweet  to  my  taste." 

Shade  is  oriental  luxury.  That  glowing  cli- 
mate renders  some  protection  from  the  sun  often 
necessary  and  always  grateful.  Very  naturally 
under  each  of  the  wide-branching  canopies  there 
would  be  found  a  little  circidar  carpet  of  verdure, 
rich,   fresh,   and  green,   though  all  else  was  arid 


"UNDER    HIS    SHADOW.  221 

Spiritual  trj'sting-places.  The  Lord's  Supper. 

and  parched  beneath  the  blaze  of  the  noon. 
Hither  would  intimate  friends  be  likely  to  resort. 
And  so  such  spots  were  easily  made  to  symbolize 
the  spiritual  trysting-places  of  the  Soul  with 
Christ,  the  chief  of  its  love. 

This  is  the  reason,  probably,  why  it  has  always 
been  so  appropriate  to  pass  over  such  language  to 
our  Communion  exercises.  Here  in  this  spiritual 
garden  we  find  no  place  of  repose  or  satisfaction 
so  welcome  as  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
furnishes.  We  see  Christ  in  it,  and  we  sit  under 
his  shadow  with  greatest  delight.  Even  the 
words  which  follow  this  aid  in  transferring  the 
thought  :  "  He  brought  me  to  the  banqueting 
house,  and  his  banner  over  me  Avas  love." 

Now,  personal  experiences  differ  widely  in  all 
these  matters  according  to  our  temperament. 
And  yet  we  all  are  conscious  of  some  yearning- 
desire  for  improvement  and  enjoyment  in  every 
recurrence  of  these  festivals.  It  becomes  a  seri- 
ous question  as  to  the  possibility,  for  every  Chris- 
tian, of  such  an  attainment.  What  is  it  that  we 
want,  and  how  shall  we  get  it  ? 

The  answer  to  these  inquiries  is  by  no  means 
difficult.  All  great  things  are  simple.  Each  true 
believer's  delight  under  the  tree  of  divine  ordi- 
nances will  bear  an  analj^sis.  Its  elements  are  all 
familiar. 

I.  Reminiscence  is  one  part  of  it.  Think  of  the 
old  histories  which  this  feast  suggests.  This  is  a 
time    of   reunions.     The    family    of    God    has   its 


222  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Pathetic  reminiscence.  The  citron-orange  tree. 

meetings  at  his  board.  And  each  one's  religious 
record  seems  sent  up  for  review.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  our  union  to  Christ,  on  to  the  perfect 
completeness  of  the  assurance  we  have  reached  in 
him,  this  ordinance  journeys  with  its  burden  of 
significance.  The  early  ransom  paid  to  justice, 
the  pardon  bestowed  so  freely  in  grace,  the  hope 
shining  in  the  distance,  as  the  crisis  and  consum- 
mation of  all  that  is  grand  or  glorious  out  in  an 
inexhaustible  future — these  are  before  us  in  the 
figures  employed. 

So  we  see  why  a  young  believer  is  quite  satis- 
fied with  the  Communion  as  a  fixed  order  of  the 
church,  and  why  the  aged  believer  desires  no 
more.  There  is  a  singular  elasticity  in  the  insti- 
tution which  adapts  it  to  each  stage  of  the  relig- 
ious life.  You  should  mark  how  exquisitely  this 
simple  point  finds  its  illustration  here  in  the 
text.  What  is  called  by  the  maiden  in  the  Song 
an  "  apple-tree"  is  really  a  citron-tree,  a  sort  of 
lemon  or  orange  peculiar  to  that  country  ;  it  is 
often  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  Its  foliage  is  per- 
petual, its  flowers  are  profuse  even  in  midwinter, 
and  on  its  branches  may  be  seen  throughout  the 
whole  year  a  continual  succession  of  blossoms 
and  fruit — green  fruit  and  ripe  fruit  on  different 
boughs  of  the  very  same  tree.  You  can  see  all 
stages  and  processes  of  growth  at  a  glance.  And 
so  our  figure  turns  very  significantly  ;  here  is  a 
spot  for  every  degree  of  advancement  in  experi- 
ence to  find  rest  upon. 


"UNDER   HIS   SHADOW."  223 

"  The  House  Beautiful."  The  meaning  of  the  emblems. 

2.  Hence,  naturally,  exhilaration  would  be  an- 
other part  of  this  delight  of  the  Christian  sitting 
under  the  shadow  of  ordinance.  It  is  carefully  to 
be  borne  in  mind  always  that  this  is  a  feast  and 
not  in  any  case  a  fast.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  just 
like  every  other  festive  occasion,  designed  to  be 
lively,  hospitable,  and  glad.  So  the  burdened 
feeling,  under  pressure  of  which  many  approach 
the  table,  is  altogether  out  of  place.  A  prince 
has  no  reason  to  be  sad  of  countenance  in  coming 
to  a  banquet  in  a  kingly  father's  palace,  unless  he 
is  conscious  he  is  plotting  wilful  treason.  Our 
ordinance  is  in  "  the  House  Beautiful  ;''  the 
chamber  of  its  celebration  is  called  "  Peace  ;"  and 
the  ministrants  at  the  board  to  furnish  food  to 
the  guests  are  by  name  "Piety,"  "Prudence," 
and  "  Charity." 

Of  course  we  admit  that  some  of  the  scenes 
which  the  feast  commemorates  are  exceedingly 
melancholy  and  sorrowful.  But  those  particular 
circumstances  in  our  Lord's  career  which  are 
outfigured  in  the  breaking  fragments  of  bread  are 
lingered  upon  only  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
that  the  work  of  atonement  is  done.  His  pains 
are  rehearsed  to  make  it  plain  that  they  are  now 
all  over  forever.  The  bread  is  torn  in  pieces  not 
for  a  harrowing  exhibition  of  Jesus'  agony,  but  to 
exhibit  how  it  comes  about  that  our  souls  have  it 
to  feed  upon.  The  wine  is  poured  out  not  merely 
to  picture  our  shame  for  the  sins  which  made  the 
shedding  of  Jesus'    blood   necessary,  but  also  to 


224  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  The  cup  of  salvation."  Agnes  Beaumont. 

remind  us  of  the  grand  covenant  it  seals.  Our 
emotions  may  be  mixed,  but  the  preponderant 
sensibility  is  that  of  ineffable  peace. 

3.  Then,  next  to  this — or  rather  with  this — 
comes  a  fresh  impulse  of  affection,  as  we  sit  under 
the  shadow  with  great  delight.  We  feel  burdened 
with  a  sense  of  gratitude.  Certainly,  we  remem- 
ber that  our  sins  demanded  the  Lord's  crucifix- 
ion ;  but  we  cannot  ever  forget  that  our  Lord  in- 
stantly met  the  demand.  And  we  find  ourselves 
quoting  the  old  Psalm  with  a  fresh  and  pathetic 
notion  of  its  great  meaning  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment : 

"  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his 
benefits  toward  me  ?  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salva- 
tion, and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I  will 
pay  my  vows  unto  the  Lord  now  in  the  presence 
of  all  his  people.  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints.  O  Lord,  truly  I 
am  thy  servant  ;  I  am  thy  servant,  and  the  son  of 
thine  handmaid  :  thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds.  I 
will  offer  to  thee  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and 
will  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I  will  pay 
my  vows  unto  the  Lord  now  in  the  presence  of  all 
his  people,  in  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  in  the 
midst  of  thee,  O  Jerusalem.     Praise  ye  the  Lord." 

You  might  find  a  very  touching  example  and 
expression  of  this  experience  recorded  in  the 
biography  of  John  Bun3^an.  On  one  occasion, 
when  he  had  been  administering  Communion,  a 
young   woman — Agnes    Beaumont   by   name — on 


"UNDER    HIS    SHADOW.  22$ 

A  feast  of  fat  things.  Eager  anticipations. 

going  away  from  the  table  wrote  this  entry  in  her 
journal  :  "  Oh,  this  has  been  a  feast  of  fat  things  ! 
I  sat  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight.  I 
found,  while  at  the  administration,  such  a  return 
of  prayer  that  I  was  scarcely  able  to  bear  up 
under  it.  I  was,  as  it  were,  carried  up  to  heaven, 
and  had  such  a  sight  of  my  Saviour  as  even  broke 
my  heart  into  pieces.  Oh,  how  I  then  longed  to 
be  with  Christ  !  How  willingly  would  I  have 
died  in  that  place,  and  gone  immediately  to 
glory  !  A  sense  of  my  sins  and  of  his  dying  love 
made  me  love  him  and  long  to  be  with  him.  It 
was  a  remarkable  visit  which  the  Saviour  made  to 
my  waiting  soul  that  day." 

4.  Then,  again,  anticipation  is  one  of  the  ele- 
ments of  that  delight  with  which  the  Christian  sits 
under  the  shadow  of  Communion.  As  yet,  our 
hearts  acknowledge  the  exposure,  as  they  have  to 
confess  the  conflict,  of  strife  with  the  adversary 
over  the  infirmities  which  beset  us  in  the  way. 
But  there  is  a  shining  of  sweet  light  in  the  dis- 
tance. Take  for  illustration  any  one  of  the 
famihar  incidents  of  Scripture  history.  When  the 
avenger  was  at  the  heels  of  a  fleeing  Hebrew, 
rushing  for  his  life  toward  a  City  of  Refuge,  the 
frightened  culprit  could  have  thought  of  nothing 
so  much  as  just  the  sight  of  those  blessed  walls, 
behind  which — if  he  could  only  get  there — he 
would  be  safe.  The  first  gleam  of  sunshine  on 
the  open  gate  would  be  like  the  quickening  of  his 
soul  from  death. 


226  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Quickening  out  of  death.  An  alabaster  box. 

Think  of  Naaman,  coming  up  the  final  time 
from  the  Jordan,  and  suddenly  discovering  that 
his  flesh  had  begun  to  return  again  like  that  of  a 
little  child,  wholesome  and  clean  from  leprosy 
forever.  Oh,  how  the  fine,  eager  hope  of  free 
days  yet  to  be  lived  and  enjoyed  would  kindle  a 
joy  in  his  heart  !  Picture  a  bitten  Israelite  look- 
ing at  the  image  of  brass  that  Moses  had  lifted  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  camp  ;  the  invalid  woman 
creeping  nearer  in  the  press  just  to  touch  the  hem 
of  Christ's  garment ;  the  centurion  receiving  the 
news  of  his  child's  healing  ;  Zacchceus  called 
down  out  of  the  tree  at  Jericho  with  gracious 
words  proposing  a  visit  at  his  house  ;  poor  old 
Bartimeus  trying  his  new  eyes  for  the  first  time, 
Avith  looking  in  the  face  of  the  Master  who  had 
opened  them  ;  take  any  of  these,  or  all  of  them 
together  ;  then  imagine  that  each  of  them  had 
some  ceremony,  or  a  recurring  anniversary,  or  a 
positive  institution,  that  would  periodically  bring 
his  wonderful  deliverance  to  mind,  and  would 
confirm  it  also,  every  time  it  came  ;  what  would 
be  his  emotions  when  he  made  ready  for  its  cele- 
bration ?  How  he  would  long  for  its  arrival,  and 
greet  it  with  delight  ! 

5.  Next  to  this,  as  one  of  the  elements  of  the 
delight  of  a  believer  at  the  Lord's  Table,  is  con- 
secration. The  soul  longs  to  break  an  alabaster 
box  of  perfumed  offering  upon  the  Saviour's  head. 
Let  me  rehearse,  as  illustrating  what  I  mean,  the 
story  of  an  individual  in  Scotland. 


"UNDER   HIS   SHADOW."  22/ 

Janette  Fraser.  "  Not  for  a  dukedom  !" 

Some  years  ago  all  the  Christian  world  was 
full  of  interest  in  the  name  of  Janette  Fraser.  It 
appears  that  this  godly  woman  had  her  home 
upon  an  insignificant  plot  of  land  in  Thornhill. 
The  owner  of  that  whole  section  of  territory — the 
feudal  proprietor — refused  to  allow  free  churches 
anywhere  on  his  soil.  In  opinion  he  was  hostile 
to  the  Disruption  acts,  and  desired  to  thwart 
them  everywhere  he  could.  Application  was 
made  to  this  poor  laboring  woman,  earning  what 
would  be  less  than  twenty  dollars  of  American 
money  a  year,  to  sell  her  garden  enclosure  on 
which  she  lived,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  up  a 
house  for  worship.  In  order  to  head  off  this 
proposition,  the  duke  likewise  sent  his  offer  of 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  the  patch  of 
ground.  Then  came  this  answer,  which  I  quote 
exactly,  for  it  has  become  historic.  The  dialect 
you  must  read  for  yourselves,  for  I  cannot  pro- 
nounce broad  Scotch  so  well  as  it  deserves  to  be 
spoken. 

"  No,"  said  this  firm-hearted  servant  of  God  ; 
"  I  have  devoted  my  all  to  my  Maker  ;  and  I 
would  not  take  five  hundred  pounds  sterling — no, 
nor  all  the  dukedom,  for  my  ground,  if  it  is  to  be 
kept  from  the  Almighty."  And  then  she  turned, 
and  presented  as  her  free  gift  the  whole  of  it  for 
a  church  building.  And  there  it  stands  to  day  ; 
crooked  and  ill-shaped,  for  they  fitted  the  structure 
to  the  entire  plot,  so  as  to  have  as  much  space  as 
possible.     It   is   the    awkwardest    monument    in 


228  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

An  awkward  monument.  The  Free-church  at  Thornhill. 

Scotland,  but  it  commemorates  an  act  of  honor- 
able zeal  of  piety  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Now,  I  tell  you  this  story  because  of  one  expres- 
sion in  the  reply  actually  sent  ;  her  account  of  the 
act  by  which  she  "devoted  her  all  to  her  Maker," 
she  gives  thus  :  "I  sat  down  at  the  Lord's 
Table  ;  in  the  address  before  distributing  the  ele- 
ments, the  minister  repeated  these  words  :  '  But 
now  thus  saith  the  Lord  that  created  thee,  O 
Jacob,  and  he  that  formed  thee,  O  Israel,  Fear 
not  ;  for  I  have  redeemed  thee,  I  have  called  thee 
by  thy  name  ;  thou  art  mine.'  I  thought  they 
entered  my  soul  and  lifted  it  up  in  joy  which  I 
could  hardly  contain.  But  when  the  bread 
passed,  such  alarm  came  upon  me  as  that  I  durst 
not  lift  it  off  the  plate  :  I  wished  the  cup  might 
pass  likewise,  if  I  did  not  belong  to  God  ;  but 
observing  I  had  missed,  the  minister  sent  an 
elder  back  with  the  bread,  when  I  admitted  I 
had  not  eaten ;  I  admired  the  providence  as 
much  as  the  promise,  and  I  have  now  need  of 
them  both." 

Then  she  goes  on  to  tell  how  her  heart  was 
kindled,  and  how  suddenly  the  thought  struck  her 
to  make  her  cottage-plot  a  free  gift  to  God.  Thus 
we  see  one,  at  first  so  humble  as  to  be  afraid  to 
touch  the  elements,  when  she  believed  the  good 
Lord  had  intended  she  should  not  be  forgotten, 
come  forth  with  her  absolute  all  to  lay  in  tears  at 
his  feet.  She  trembled  as  did  Esther  at  the  king's 
door  ;  but  when  he  held  out  his  sceptre,  her  heart 


''UNDER   HIS   SHADOW.  229 

Reverence  and  tranquillity.  Method  of  attainment. 

broke  into  unutterable  tenderness  and  consecra- 
tion. 

And  now  I  was  going  on  to  speak  of  reverence 
and  of  tranquillity,  as  elements  of  this  delight 
when  one  sits  under  the  shadow  of  such  an  ordi- 
nance. 

But  I  arrest  the  analysis.  Let  us  put  the  ques- 
tion in  closing,  How  is  all  this  attained  ?  Only  a 
single  sentence  is  needed  to  state  the  answer  : 

"  That  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare 
we  unto  you,  that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship 
with  us  :  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  say 
that  we  have  fellowship  with  him,  and  walk  in 
darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth:  but  if  we 
walk  in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

"  He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me  :  and  he  that  loveth 
me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him.  Judas  saith 
unto  him  (not  Iscariot),  Lord,  how  is  it  that  thou 
wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the 
world  ?  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him.  If  a 
man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  words  :  and  my 
Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him, 
and  make  our  abode  with  him." 


XX. 

THE   TEXT-BOOK   IN  AFFLICTION. 

"It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  I 

MIGHT  learn  thy  STATUTES." — Psahtt  Ilg  :  71. 

Certain  singularities  have  always  marked  this 
Psalm  with  a  peculiar  interest  for  the  scholar.  It 
is  the  lengthiest  in  the  Bible,  and  some  peculiar 
structural  forms  render  it  attractive.  Yet  it  can- 
not be  known  who  was  its  author.  We  only  un- 
derstand that  some  saint  there  has  once  been  in 
history  who  was  inspired  to  say  what  many  a 
saint  since  his  day  has  not  needed  inspiration  to 
work  out  into  life  :  "  Before  I  was  afflicted  I  went 
astray  :  but  now  have  I  kept  thy  word.  It  is 
good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  I 
might  learn  thy  statutes." 

He  does  not  mean  mere  personal  bereavements  ; 
he  makes  no  restrictions  whatsoever.  And  from 
other  parts  of  the  psalm  we  infer  he  intended  to 
include  all  that  is  trying  to  any  sensitive  soul. 
He  mentions  reproaches  and  slanders  ;  he  specifies 
enemies,  and  those  who  had  dealt  perversely  with 
him  ;  he  speaks  also  of  spiritual  desertions,  and 
conscious  uncleanness,  loneliness  and  prostration 
of  heart,  fears  and  fightings,  weariness  and  doubt. 
His  forms  of  expression  are  exceedingly  general. 


THE   TEXT-BOOK   IN  AFFLICTION.  23 1 

A  hundred  and  seventy-six  verses.  Individuality  recognized. 

And  it  is  not  likely  we  shall  err  if,  in  making  a 
proposition  out  of  his  extensive  compend,  we 
should  say  he  really  intended  to  offer  the  Bible — 
the  whole  word  of  God — as  the  text  book  for  the 
afflicted  ;  and  that  this  end,  simple  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, is  his  definite  aim  through  all  the  hundred 
and  seventy -six  verses  of  which  the  psalm  is  com- 
posed. 

It  would  be  a  profitable  exercise  for  us  if  we 
could  look  down  upon  men  once  from  the  heaven- 
side.  We  should  have  a  far  better  notion  of  this 
disciplinary  existence  of  ours.  The  truth  is,  all  of 
God's  children  are  at  school.  Our  place  is  still 
upon  the  primary  forms,  learning  to  read  the 
alphabet  of  the  redeemed.  And  our  chief  hin- 
drance to  improvement  is  that  in  our  dulness  we 
are  wilfully  set  against  hearing  explanations,  and 
worse  set  against  obeying  orders,  as  we  are 
bound.  We  are  over-wise,  and  often  impatient, 
and  do  not  want  to  have  our  teaching  continued, 
no  matter  how  kind  is  the  voice  that  proffers  it. 

Still  we  need  light  deplorably,  and  in  compas- 
sion for  us  God  himself  insists  on  being  our  in- 
structor. The  great  thing  for  us  to  feel,  and  come 
joyously  under,  is  the  consciousness  that  he  is 
dealing  with  each  one  of  us  face  to  face,  and  that 
he  in  turn  recognizes  the  individual  temperament 
and  disposition  of  his  entire  round  of  pupils.  An 
intense  personality  on  his  part,  and  an  intense 
personality  on  ours,  are  the  characteristics  of  the 
intercourse  between  us.     We  need,  therefore,  to 


232  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Acquaintance  with  God.  An  appreciation  of  the  Bible. 

become  acquainted  with  our  Preceptor  in  order 
to  success  in  our  studies.  Especially  is  this  true 
when  the  particular  difficulty  of  our  lesson  centres 
upon  himself. 

Now  the  process  of  our  spiritual  education 
might  have  been  conducted,  as  it  was  with  our 
first  parents  in  the  garden,  by  means  of  mere  oral 
communication  of  truth  and  precept.  But  divine 
wisdom  has  seen  fit  to  order  it  otherwise.  He 
has  given  us  the  use  of  a  plain  text-book.  And 
the  primary  object  of  God's  dealings  with  us  has 
been  announced  :  it  is  to  draw  us  to  learn  our  les- 
sons from  the  volume  before  us.  He  does  not 
choose  to  make  himself  known  to  us  in  mere 
Nature,  nor  even  in  Nature  and  Providence  com- 
bined. He  has  revealed  himself  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  he  desires  us  to  be  familiar  with  what  is  said 
in  them.  In  this  sense,  "  he  hath  magnified  his 
Word  above  his  Name." 

Hence,  the  assertion  is  not  by  any  means  so 
startling  as  it  would  at  first  sight  seem,  that  the 
main  object  of  many  of  our  worries  and  afflictions, 
little  and  large,  is  to  drive  us  to  an  intelligent 
knowledge,  and  a  fitting  appreciation,  of  the  Bible. 
The  Almighty  God  has  ordered  it  as  the  medium 
of  intercourse  with  himself,  and  it  is  hardly  too 
much  to  say  that  he  chastises  no  sin  of  man  more 
severely  than  neglect  of  its  study. 

This  is,  no  doubt,  the  earliest  meaning  of  our 
text.  But  I  apprehend  that  it  is  meant  to  include 
more.     Our  trials  are  intended  to  force  us  to  the 


THE   TEXT-BOOK   IN   AFFLICTION.  233 

"  The  religion  of  the  sorrowful."  Rebellious  questionings. 

study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  that  for  the  sake  of 
everything  which  those  grand  oracles  of  truth 
contain.  But  there  can  be  no  question  that  what 
the  Psalmist  would  have  us  clearly  understand  is, 
that  afflictions  propose  to  introduce  us  to  God's 
word,  most  of  all,  for  the  sake  of  the  specific  truth 
it  contains  concerning  afflictions  in  particular.  It 
was  once  urged  as  a  reproach  that  "  Christianity 
is  the  religion  of  the  sorrowful."  Surely,  a  fact 
so  patent  need  not  be  presented  with  any  array  of 
argument.  The  scheme  of  faith  and  hope  and 
life  which  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  man  of  sorrows 
and  acquainted  with  grief,  came  to  publish  and 
fulfil,  is  just  the  religion  for  the  sorrowful  ;  and 
one  would  think  that,  in  a  world  like  ours,  there 
would  be  quite  room  enough  for  it.  And  the 
gospel,  which  contains  the  record  of  that  system, 
is  certainly  just  what  a  mourner  or  a  sufferer 
from  any  cause  desires. 

Begin,  if  you  will,  with  the  one  item  of  explana- 
tion. The  chief  source  of  our  disquiet  under  trials 
is  their  mystery.  We  see  no  reason  why  the 
children  of  God  should  be  wounded  and  bereaved. 
There  is  no  solution  of  the  rebellious  questionings 
which  arise,  when  our  hearts  are  broken  and 
stunned,  outside  of  an  immediate  and  authoritative 
revelation  from  heaven.  When  God  sends  us 
chastisement,  only  God  can  tell  us  what  it  is  for. 
And  he  has  been  pleased  to  do  this  beforehand. 
The  Bible  discloses  the  entire  purpose  of  the  dis- 
cipline. 


234  SERMONS   IN   SONGS.  ^ 

God  had  one  Son  sinless.  Not  even  one  son  sorrowless. 

You  will  recall  the  words  of  the  young  Elihu  in 
his  address  to  the  patriarch  Job  :  "  Lo,  all  these 
things  worketh  God  oftentimes  with  man,  to 
bring  back  his  soul  from  the  pit,  to  be  enlightened 
with  the  light  of  the  living." 

Here  is  wisdom  for  ourselves  found  in  what 
some  consider  the  oldest  book  in  the  Bible.  This 
is  only  one  declaration,  however,  among  many  in 
God's  word,  all  of  which  avow  as  the  grand  per- 
vading principle  of  the  divine  government  that 
affliction  is  the  chief  instrument  of  spiritual  educa- 
tion for  every  true  believer.  He  is  to  be  made 
perfect  through  suffering.  That  which  was  for- 
merly the  curse  now  becomes  the  means  of  remov- 
ing the  curse.  Man  suffers  for  his  own  sin,  Christ 
suffers  for  man's  sin.  Though  God  did  have  one 
Son  who  never  sinned,  he  never  had  so  much  as 
one  son  who  did  not  suffer. 

There  is  now,  however,  this  great  reversal  of 
the  entire  office  of  spiritual  pain  :  whereas  it  was 
once  penal,  now  it  is  purifying.  The  fire  of  afflic- 
tion is  no  longer  the  hot,  burning  rain  falling  upon 
Sodoin,  or  the  fierce  flashes  of  destruction  sent  at 
the  prayer  of  Elijah  on  the  fifties  of  Ahab  ;  in- 
deed, it  is  not  the  flame-wreaths  of  the  pit  at  all. 
It  is  the  glowing  of  a  furnace,  the  heat  of  which 
none  can  deny,  but  the  purpose  of  which  is  to 
refine.awa}^  dross,  and  bring  pure  gold  out  from 
its  chance  defilement.  And  even  in  the  midst  of 
the  flames  may  always  be  seen  the  form  of  one 
like  unto  the   Son   of   Man,   sharing   the  fiercest 


THE   TEXT-BOOK   IN   AFFLICTION.  235 

Chastening  is  teaching.  Inexhaustible  comfort. 

fortunes  of  his  chosen  friends.  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  whom  thou  chastenest,  O  Lord,  and  teachest 
him  out  of  thy  law."    Chastening  is  just  teaching. 

This  of  itself  would  seem  to  be  enough  to  render 
the  Bible  of  immense  value  to  any  tired  believer. 
If  it  explains  his  trouble  it  does  more  than  any- 
thing else  can  for  him.  But  it  goes  beyond  this. 
There  is  in  God's  word  an  inexhaustible  comfort 
as  well  as  explanation. 

It  may  seem  singular,  but  it  is  indisputably 
true,  that  most  afflicted  Christians  find  their  com- 
fort in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  rather  than  in 
anything  else.  Sorrow,  just  of  itself,  seems  to 
throw  a  flood  of  illumination  upon  those  cardinal 
principles  of  divine  revelation  which  lie  at  the 
very  foundation  of  truth.  Affliction,  instead  of 
making  us  impatient  with  the  deep  truths  of  God, 
those  which  compel  us  to  intensity  of  thought, 
really  leads  us  to  them  with  unusual  preference. 

When  earthly  hopes  fail,  we  long  to  come  to  a 
heavenly  reliance.  When  our  heart  is  over- 
whelmed, we  are  ready  to  cry  :  "  Lead  me  to  the 
rock  that  is  higher  than  I."  He  who  stands  near 
the  white  throne  expects,  being  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Almighty,  to  hear  great  revelations  of  wis- 
dom. Then  our  reason  forbears  to  speculate  ;  we 
want  authoritative  and  intelligent  utterance  ;  we 
grapple  with  the  living  realities  of  faith.  A  swim- 
mer, heaved  upon  the  sea-beach  by  the  billows 
which  have  wrecked  his  boat,  will  not  be  likely  to 
think  much  about  geologic  difficulties  concerning 


236  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Not  the  strata  but  the  rock.  Ararat  and  the  ark. 

the  strata  of  the  rock  he  clings  to  ;  what  he  wants 
to  find  is  some  rock  which  will  hold  when  he 
clings  to  it.  So  a  Christian  struggles  after  deep 
and  stable  truth. 

The  doctrine  of  Christ's  incarnation  seems  as 
dear  as  it  is  mysterious  ;  for  it  tells  us  that  our 
God  has  once  been  truly  in  man's  form  and  under- 
stands man's  sorrow.  The  doctrine  of  special 
providence  is  precious  enough  now  to  write  its 
formulas  in  letters  of  fine  gold  ;  for  it  assures  us 
God  knows  who  we  are,  and  is  acquainted  with 
what  we  are  undergoing.  There  is  no  likelihood 
ever  that  real  mourners  will  carp  at,  or  ridicule, 
that  saying  of  Jesus  concerning  his  note  of  the 
sparrow's  fall,  or  his  counting  the  hairs  of  our 
head.  Even  the  doctrine  of  divine  sovereignty 
has  amazing  consolation  in  it,  for  it  gives  us  such 
certainty  that  this  universe  has  not  yet  gone 
a  wreck  fatally.  Prodigious  doctrine  that  is,  and 
weak  human  nature  does  not  know  exactly  what 
to  do  with  it,  except  in  hours  like  these.  Its 
great  base  may  be  all  out  of  sight,  deep  under 
the  waves  of  mystery,  as  was  Ararat's  base  under 
the  deluging  waters  of  the  flood  ;  what  we  want 
to  know,  however,  is  not  where  the  undiscover- 
able  foundation  is,  but  if  the  summit  is  untremu- 
lous  where  it  now  lies  disclosed,  and  whether  our 
poor,  tossing  ark  of  faith  may  rest  with  security 
upon  it  with  the  wild  swirl  of  waters  around  us. 

The  fact  is,  affliction  softens  the  heart,  bends 
the  will,  humbles  the  intellect,  quickens  trust,  and 


THE   TEXT-BOOK   IN   AFFLICTION.  2^ 

Doctrines  now  preferred.  Tholuck's  motto. 

SO  renders  the  whole  proud  nature  more  docile 
than  before.  It  finds  comfort  easier  by  its  own 
search  after  it.  There  is  something  in  pain  and 
disappointment  which  breaks  opposition,  hushes 
cavils,  and  turns  the  eye  of  the  believer  with 
wistful  expectation  to  the  cross.  An  indulged 
boy  grows  less  dainty  over  his  needed  food  when 
he  has  grown  famished  by  some  deprivation. 
The  Christian  whose  heart  aches  welcomes  what 
he  finds  in  his  old  Bible.  Then  the  grand  central 
doctrines  of  redemption  are  his  delight.  Real 
mourners  look  to  the  crucified  Immanuel.  They 
do  not  want  the  poetry  of  religion,  they  want  the 
experience  of  it  ;  and  that  comes  better  through 
losfic  and  arofument.  Men  and  women  who  turn 
from  didactic  discussion  in  health  will,  when 
they  are  ill,  read  elaborate  treatises  on  the  two 
covenants,  and  study  deeply  the  adjustment  of 
justice  and  mercy  in  the  atonement.  "It  is  the 
heart  that  makes  the  theologian,"  and  even  a 
broken  heart  sometimes  gains  firmest  hold  of 
truth. 

Perhaps  this  is  enough  ;  there  is  a  connection, 
thus  you  see,  my  Christian  friends,  between  trial 
and  truth.  The  Bible  is  the  text-book  for  the 
afflicted.  There  is  a  spiritual  philosophy,  not  a 
mere  impulse,  which  forced  this  ancient,  and  to 
us  unknown,  believer  to  say  :  "It  is  good  for  me 
that  I  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  I  might  learn  thy 
statutes."  Two  mere  reiparks  here  in  closing  are 
all  that  is  needed  further. 


238  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


A  tear-drop  for  a  lens.  The  Bible  is  larger  now. 

The  one  is  this  :  it  requires  a  certain  prostra- 
tion of  feeling,  a  certain  suffusion  of  soul,  thor- 
oughly to  appreciate  and  understand  the  Bible. 
Sometimes  it  seems  a  hard,  dry  volume  ;  it  re- 
quires a  sad  heart,  gomg  to  it  honestly  for  help, 
to  disclose  all  its  tenderness.  "  As  one  whom  his 
mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you,  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts."  We  are  told  that  a  tear-drop 
is  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  lenses.  Surely  it 
has  a  wonderful  magnifying  power  when  brought 
to  bear  on  the  Bible.  Often  a  weeping  mourner 
sees  a  whole  world  of  beauty  which  dry  eyes  can 
hardl}'^  recognize  when  pointed  out. 

The  other  remark  is  this  :  when  the  text  was 
written  only  the  Old  Testament  was  in  existence, 
and  perhaps  not  all  of  that.  Now  we  have,  be- 
sides, all  the  New.  Oh,  how  full,  then,  for  us  is 
the  measure  of  consolation  !  "  Return  unto  thy 
rest,  O  my  soul,  for  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bounti- 
fully with  thee." 


XXI. 

NATURE  AND   REVELATION. 

"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  ;  and  the  firma- 
ment SHEWETH  HIS  HANDYWORK." — Psalm  Ig  :  I. 

The  eighth  psalm  seems  to  present  a  night- 
picture  of  Eastern  skies,  the  nineteenth  a  day- 
picture,  both  of  which  must  for  many  years  have 
been  familiar  to  David  as  he  kept  his  father's 
flocks  on  Bethlehem  hills.  Most  critics  would 
say  that,  in  construction,  the  psalm  which  we  are 
to  study  to-day  is  perfect  as  a  lyric  hymn,  exqui- 
site in  figure,  sublime  in  thought,  singularly 
analytic  and  logical  in  its  form.  It  furnishes  us 
these  natural  divisions  for  our  convenience  in  con- 
sideration :  Nature  exhibits  God's  glory.  Revela- 
tion shows  God's  grace. 

I.  What  does  nature  exhibit  concerning  God's 
glory  ?  Some  attributes  of  the  divine  character 
come  out  into  clear  display. 

I.  For  one  thing,  this  material  universe  exhibits 
the  poiver  of  God.  The  very  existence  of  these 
orbs  over  our  heads  proposes  the  proofs  of  the 
divine  omnipotence  and  godhead.  It  simply 
stuns  our  minds  to  assert  that  these  were  without 
any  maker  ;  but  whoever  creates  worlds,  he  it  is 
that  is  our  God.     The   undevout  astronomer  is 


240  SERMONS    IN   SONGS. 

Augustine's  Confessions.  Chimes  in  the  heavens. 

mad.  Nature  leads  us  up  directly  to  its  own 
Creator,  and  points  him  out  :  "  The  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God  ;  and  the  firmament  shew- 
eth  his  handy  work. " 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  historic  illustra- 
tions has  been  given  to  us  in  the  Confessions  of 
the  great  Augustine  :  "  I  asked  the  earth,  and  it 
said,  *  I  am  not  he  ;  '  and  all  that  is  upon  it  made 
the  same  admission.  I  asked  the  sea,  and  the 
depths,  and  the  creeping  things  which  have  life, 
and  they  answered,  '  We  are  not  thy  God  ;  look 
thou  above  us.'  I  asked  the  breezes,  and  the 
gales  ;  and  the  whole  air,  with  its  inhabitants, 
said  to  me,  '  Anaximenes  is  in  error ;  I  am  not 
God.'  I  asked  the  heaven,  the  sun,  the  moon, 
the  stars  ;  '  We,  too,'  said  they,  *  are  not  the  God 
whom  thou  seekest. '  And  1  said  to  all  the  creat- 
ures which  surrounded  the  doors  of  my  fleshly 
senses,  *  Ye  have  declared  to  me  of  my  God  that 
ye  are  not  he  ;  tell  me  somewhat  about  him,* 
And  with  a  great  voice  they  exclaimed,  *  He  made 
us.'  " 

2.  Moreover,  nature  exhibits  the  ivisdovi  of 
God.  There  is  such  a  harmony  in  the  move- 
ments, as  there  is  between  means  and  ends  in  the 
providences  of  God,  that  we  cannot  help  discov- 
ering something  almost  musical  in  the  thought 
which  is  suggested  here  in  the  declaration  of  this 
psalm.  David  seems  to  hear  chimes  in  the  heav- 
ens which  possess  meaning,  but  have  no  mortal 
tongue  :    "  Day   unto   day    uttereth    speech,  and 


NATURE   AND    REVELATION.  241 

Bishop  Home's  choirs.  Pythagoras'  solar  system. 


night  unto  night  sheweth  knowledge.  There  is 
no  speech  nor  language,  where  their  voice  is  not 
heard."  Bishop  Home  comments  upon  the 
verses,  with  vivid  conception  of  the  poetry  which 
offers  day  and  night  in  such  contrast  ;  he  says 
they  resemble  "two  parts  of  a  choir,  chanting 
forth  alternately  the  praises  of  God."  They  have 
no  articulate  language.  Whatever  communica- 
tions they  have  to  make  must  be  given  to  the  de- 
vout and  intelligent  heart  ;  they  sing  with  the 
spirit  and  understanding  to  the  spirit  that  under- 
stands them  through  love  and  faith. 

In  all  ages  this  representation  of  the  stars  as 
singing  aloud  in  their  courses  the  harmony  of 
divine  wisdom  is  found.  In  his  astronomy  Pyth- 
agoras taught  that  the  heavenly  bodies  revolved 
in  a  series  of  crystalline  spheres,  at  the  supreme 
centre  of  which  was  placed  our  earth.  In  the 
outermost  of  these  were  set  the  thousands  of  fixed 
stars  studding  the  firmament,  while  each  of  the 
seven  planets  had  its  own  sphere  to  dwell  in. 
The  transparency  of  each  crystal  sphere  was  per- 
fect, so  that  the  orbs  in  all  of  the  exterior  spheres 
were  visible  plainly  through  all  of  the  inner  ones  ; 
and  these  spheres  rolled  round  on  each  other  in 
a  daily  revolution — thus  causing  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  And  the  old  phi- 
losopher said  further  that  the  motion  of  this  vast 
celestial  mechanism  was  so  sweet  and  beautiful 
that  it  made  harmonic  sounds,  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of   "  the  music  of  the  spheres  ;"   this 


242  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  "  music  of  the  spheres."  Plutarch's  "  divinity-school." 

filled  the  firmament  everywhere,  but  it  was  of  too 
elevated  a  character  to  be  heard  by  the  souls  of 
dull-eared  mortals. 

It  really  appears  singular  that  an  unenlightened 
heathen  should  have  caught  the  same  suggestion 
from  a  study  of  the  skies  that  an  inspired  psalmist 
learned  from  them,  as  he  prayed  beneath  their 
wordless  songs.  "  Holy  silence,"  Tholuck  says, 
with  exquisite  appreciation  of  the  teachings  of 
stillness  upon  a  devout  soul,  "  Holy  silence  itself 
is  a  speech,  provided  there  shall  be  the  ear  to 
listen  to  its  meaning." 

3.  Next  to  this,  nature  exhibits  the  siipremacy  of 
God.  Over  the  whole  universe  sits  this  one 
Sovereign,  reigning  at  his  will,  and  the  stars  sing 
his  glory  :  "  Their  line  is  gone  out  through  all 
the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  Their  measuring-line  reaches  round  the 
globe  ;  their  province  or  domain  is  co-extensive 
with  the  earth,  and  they  speak  with  full  authority 
to  its  remotest  parts.  Even  the  ancient  heathen, 
Plutarch,  used  to  say,  "  This  world  resembleth  a 
divinity-school." 

4.  And  then,  likewise,  nature  teaches  th^  faith- 
fulness of  God.  In  this  remarkable  psalm  we  are 
now  introduced  to  one  of  the  most  brilliant  figures 
of  rhetoric  conceivable.  David  sees  the  sunrise 
as  he  used  to  see  it  in  the  cool  dawning  of  the  day 
over  the  mountains  of  Moab  when  he  was  a  child. 
With  a  magnificent  stroke  of  imagination  he  con- 
ceives of  the  heavens  as  a  tabernacle,  or  marriage 


NATURE  AND   REVELATION.  243 

Bells  in  the  towers  of  the  ages.  Harvard  College. 

pavilion,  forth  from  which  marches  the  sun  :  "  In 
them  hath  he  set  a  tabernacle  for  the  sun,  which 
is  as  a  bridegroom  coming  out  of  his  chamber, 
and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race.  His 
going  forth  is  from  the  end  of  the  heaven,  and  his 
circuit  unto  the  ends  of  it  :  and  there  is  nothing 
hid  from  the  heat  thereof." 

We  can  stud}''  the  elements  of  this  comparison 
by  and  by  as  we  need  them  for  our  illustration  of 
truth.  But  now  let  us  for  a  moment  consider  the 
rising  of  the  sun,  and  the  circling  of  celestial 
bodies  in  their  order,  as  a  proof  of  the  stability 
holding  the  universe  safely  beneath  the  bond  of 
God's  faithful  covenant.  Thousands  of  years 
drift  swiftly  away,  but  the  bells  God  has  swung 
in  the  towers  of  the  ages  still  keep  time  wonder- 
fully. 

Once  as  I  entered  the  observatory  of  Harvard 
College,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  my  friend  who 
had  led  me  there  asked  that  I  might  be  shown  the 
new  instrument  which  had  just  been  introduced. 
The  professor  replied  courteously,  "  Yes  ;  I  think 
there  may  be  time  enough  yet  for  him  to  see  a 
star,  if  you  will  find  one."  My  companion 
"  found  one"  by  looking  in  a  worn  little  book  of 
astronomical  tables  lying  there  on  the  desk,  and 
replied  quietly,  "There  is  one  at  5:20."  So  in 
a  hurried  instant  the  covering  was  stripped  off 
from  the  great  brass  tube,  and,  prone  upon  his 
back  under  the  eye-piece,  lay  the  enthusiastic 
professor.     While  my  friend  stood  by,  with  what 


244  SERMONS   IN  SONGS. 

A  clock-tick  and  a  star.  One  of  God's  glorious  worlds, 

seemed  a  tack-hammer  in  his  hand,  I  noticed  that 
he  kept  his  eye  on  a  tall  chronometer-clock  near 
us.  Suddenly  two  sounds  broke  the  impressive 
stillness  ;  we  had  been  waiting  for  the  stars.  One 
was  the  word  "  There  !"  spoken  by  the  professor, 
the  other  was  the  tap  of  the  hammer  on  the  stone 
top  of  the  table  by  my  companion.  Both  oc- 
curred at  the  same  instant — the  same  particle  of 
the  instant — they  were  positively  simultaneous. 
But  the  man  who  spoke  the  word  could  not  see 
the  clock  ;  he  was  looking  at  the  star  which  came 
swinging  along  till  it  touched  the  spider-web  line 
in  his  instrument  ;  and  the  other  man  who  struck 
the  hammer-stroke  could  not  see  the  star  ;  he 
was  looking  at  the  second-hand  on  the  dial-face. 
When  the  index  in  its  simplicity  of  regular  duty 
marked  twenty  minutes  after  five,  there  fell  the 
click  on  the  stone  ;  and  then,  too,  there  came  on 
in  the  heavens,  millions  of  miles  away,  one  of 
God's  stars,  having  no  speech,  but  rolling  in  on 
time  as  he  bade  it  ages  ago  ! 

Then  I  was  invited  to  look  in  and  see  the  world 
of  light  and  beauty  as  it  swept  by  the  next  fibre 
in  the  tube.  But  afterward  I  went  curiously  to 
the  book,  and  found  that  it  had  been  published  ten 
years  before,  and  that  its  calculations  ran  far  away 
into  the  future,  and  that  it  had  been  based  on 
calculations  a  thousand  years  old.  And  God's 
fidelity  to  the  covenant  of  nature  here  novv  almost 
three  thousand  years  after  David  had  made  this 
nineteenth  psalm,  had  brought  the  glorious  creat- 


NATURE  AND    REVELATION.  245 

Nature  exhibits  God's  character.  Revelation  teaches  God's  grace. 

ure  of  the  sky  into  the  field  of  Harvard  College's 
instrument  just  as  that  patient  clock  reached  the 
second  needed  for  the  truth  of  the  ancient  predic- 
tion. Need  I  say  that  those  two  professors  almost 
wondered  (so  used  to  such  things  were  they)  at 
the  awestruck  devotion  and  the  hushed  reverence 
with  which  I  left  the  room. 

II.  We  are  ready  now  to  ask  our  second  ques- 
tion :  What  has  revelation  to  teach  concerning 
God's  grace  ?  We  shall  only  have  to  take  up  the 
verses  of  this  wonderful  psalm  as  we  did  before. 

1.  To  begin  with,  revelation  teaches  the  efficacy 
of  God's  grace.  It  restores  the  fallen  nature  of 
men,  and  brings  them  again  into  obedience  and 
love  :  "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  convert- 
ing the  soul  :  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure, 
making  wise  the  simple,"  The  "  testimony  of 
the  Lord  is  sure,"  in  that  it  witnesses  to  all  the 
perfections  of  the  Lord's  character  and  ways. 
His  commandments  are  the  revelation  of  his  sin- 
cere love  of  our  souls.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in 
the  Hebrew  of  the  psalm  each  of  these  three 
verses,  the  seventh,  the  eighth,  and  the  ninth,  con- 
sists of  ten  words — ^according  to  the  number  of  the 
ten  commandments  concerning  which  they  treat. 

2.  Revelation  teaches  the  intelligence  of  God's 
grace  also  ;  his  word  converts  and  illumines  : 
"  The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the 
heart  :  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure, 
enlightening  the  eyes."  One  of  the  old  stories, 
true   or  not  it  matters   nothing,   is  recorded  of 


246  SERMONS   IN  SONGS. 

Bonaventura's  text-books.  No  twilight  in  the  Orient. 

Bonaventura.  Thomas  Aquinas  once,  on  a  visit, 
requested  him  to  point  out  those  books  which  he 
used  most  in  his  studies.  The  tranquil  scholar 
led  him  into  an  inner  cell,  and  showed  him  a  few 
of  the  common  collections  upon  the  seat  ;  but  as 
his  guest  still  insisted  on  seeing  the  volumes  from 
which  in  particular  he  got  so  many  wonders  of 
learning,  he  drew  aside  a  curtain  and  thus  dis- 
played an  oratory  and  a  crucifix.  "  These  are 
my  books,"  said  the  holy  man  ;  "  this  is  the  prin- 
cipal one  from  which  I  am  wont  to  gather  what  I 
teach  and  write  ;  here  at  the  foot  of  that  cross  I 
make  what  progress  I  have  attained  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  will  of  God." 

We  may  well  return  for  a  moment  to  the  figure 
the  psalmist  uses  in  the  earlier  verses  of  this 
psalm.  He  compares  truth  to  the  rising  of  the 
sun  ;  and  we  must  remember  that  in  that  almost 
cloudless  land,  and  for  many  months  of  each  year 
almost  rainless,  there  is  never  in  the  sky  at  dawn 
anything  like  what  we  call  twilight.  When  the 
sun  rises  he  springs  straight  up  above  the  horizon 
all  at  once,  perfectly  on  hand,  like  a  bridegroom 
to  run  a  race  ;  and  then,  after  he  is  about  his 
business,  the  whole  world  is  flooded  with  light  ; 
there  is  no  escape  from  his  beams  all  the  day. 
God's  truth  is  symbolized  in  these  particulars 
perfectly.  Truth  comes  right  up  into  exhibition  ; 
there  is  no  need  of  taking  a  dozen  men  with  a 
farthing  taper  in  each  one's  hand  to  look  up  the 
sun  in  the  morning:. 


NATURE   AND    REVELATION.  247 

The  straightest  line  in  nature.  A  preacher's  private  treasure. 

3.  Again  :  revelation  teaches  the  soimdness  of 
God's  grace.  It  abides  all  criticism  of  review  ; 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring  forever  : 
the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous 
altogether."  In  the  rational  reverence  of  a  re- 
newed soul  everything  is  pure  and  holy  ;  there 
is  nothing  defiling  or  corrupting  in  the  sincere 
service  of  God.  The  decisions  of  the  gospel  are 
in  accordance  with  right  reason,  and  satisfy  good 
conscience.  Truth  is  like  sunlight  in  that  it 
always  must  shine  in  a  direct  course.  Artists  tell 
us  that  the  straightest  line  in  nature  is  that  which 
is  drawn  by  the  shadow  of  a  rock  across  the  foam 
of  a  cataract.  The  beams  from  above  will  endure 
no  wavering  or  sinuousness.  And  so  we  say,  that 
is  rigJit  in  morals  which  is  straight  ;  a  straight  line 
is  a  right  line  ;  a  rigJU  angle  is  one  which  is  held 
between  two  straight  lines  ;  and  that  is  wrong 
which  is  wrung,  or  distorted  and  twisted  away 
from  the  right.  "  That  which  is  crooked  cannot 
be  made  straight." 

4.  Once  more  :  revelation  teaches  the  value  of 
God's  grace.  Once,  on  a  journey,  a  celebrated 
modern  preacher  was  seen  to  put  his  hand  mys- 
teriously into  his  pocket  and  bring  forth  a  num- 
ber of  packages  carefully  wrapped  in  tissue-paper. 
Hour  after  hour,  as  the  travel  continued,  he  re- 
mained apparently  absorbed  in  the  examination  of 
what  his  packets  contained.  A  friend  coming 
suddenly  near  surprised  him  in  the  act  of  looking 
at  a  costly  ruby,  and  contrasting  its  color  with  a 


248  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Jewels  of  truth.  Honey  more  nutritious  than  gold. 


sapphire.  The  clergyman  quiell}^  said,  "  I  hav^e 
friends  who  lend  these  expensive  things  to  me 
when  I  am  going  off  awhile  ;  they  know  how 
much  I  enjoy  them  in  the  rough,  as  it  were  ;  I 
never  like  such  jewels  after  they  are  set  ;  the 
gold  spoils  them  to  my  eye  ;  but  I  can  spend 
hours  just  in  putting  the  bright  stones  alongside 
of  the  dark  ones,  and  so  turning  them  over  and 
over,  and  seeing  something  better  in  each  new 
combination  ;  really,  I  grow  attached  to  them." 

Many  a  true  Christian  knows  what  this  means 
with  the  jewels  of  God's  truth  :  "  More  to  be 
desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine 
gold  :  sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the  honey- 
comb."  Some  there  are  who  can  understand 
what  it  is  to  prize  them  more  than  gold,  but  not 
so  clearly  what  it  is  to  find  them  sweeter  than  a 
honeycomb.  This  was  the  remark  of  one  who 
was  long  beloved  in  the  church,  made  just  after 
he  knew  he  was  dying  :  "  I  wish  I  had  a  little 
more  personal  faith.  I  think,  with  the  psalmist, 
that  these  things  are  more  precious  than  gold, 
yea,  than  much  fine  gold  ;  but  I  cannot  go  so  well 
with  him  in  that  they  are  sweeter  also  than 
'  honey  and  the  honeycomb. '  1  stick  at  that  ; 
that  has  often  been  a  plague  with  me.  The  pre- 
cious things  were  more  as  casketed  jewels  than  as 
meat  and  drink.  They  delight  the  intellect  ;  but 
oh,  I  wish  1  had  the  loving  heart  !  I  go  mourn- 
ing all  the  day  now  for  the  want  of  it." 

5.  Then,   in  the  last  place,    revelation  teaches 


NATURE   AND    REVELATION.  249 

God's  grace  is  just.  A  spirit-level  in  a  car. 

ihQjjistice  of  God's  grace.  These  judgments  and 
testimonies  of  the  Lord  establish,  rather  than  de- 
stroy, the  legal  principle  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment in  the  lives  of  men  :  "  Moreover  by  them  is 
thy  servant  warned  :  and  in  keeping  of  them 
there  is  great  reward."  The  truth  is,  we  need 
some  absolute  standard  of  reference  by  which  to 
test  our  conduct,  even  while  we  are  living  on  the 
divine  bounty.  We  do  not  always  see  the  ten- 
dency of  our  behavior,  nor  discern  the  ends  to 
which  certain  indulgences  may  lead.  Some  of  us 
have  noticed  the  strange  suggestions  of  a  work- 
man's spirit-level,  brought  perchance  into  the  rail- 
way-car ;  now  we  are  on  a  down-grade,  now  on 
an  up-grade  ;  we  cannot  look  behind  or  before  to 
know  what  is  coming  or  what  is  left  ;  but  here  is 
this  little  bubble  creeping  along  unerringly  under 
its  glass  like  a  thing  of  life  ;  that  shows  our  ups 
and  downs  with  no  exaggerations  or  mistake. 
Such  is  the  law  of  God  written  on  our  consciences, 
but  more  plainly  given  in  his  word. 

Can  we  wonder,  as  now  we  reach  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  psalm,  after  having  duly  considered 
the  teachings  of  nature  and  grace,  that  David 
prays  for  the  grace  of  God  in  his  own  soul,  as 
being  preferable  to  any  mere  contemplation  of 
God's  glory  ?  It  may  be  enough  for  us  all,  per- 
haps, that  we  note  how  earnestly  he  pleads  for 
grace  to  enlighten  him  as  to  his  needs,  to  cleanse 
him  from  his  guilt,  and  to  restore  him  unto  com- 
munion with  his  Maker. 


250  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Provision  for  pardon  of  sin.  Crosses  in  the  Tyrol. 

"  Who  can  understand  his  errors  ?  cleanse  thou 
me  from  secret  faults.  Keep  back  thy  servant 
also  from  presumptuous  sins  ;  let  them  not  have 
dominion  over  me  :  then  shall  I  be  upright,  and  I 
shall  be  innocent  from  the  great  transgression. 
Let  the  words  of  my  mouth,  and  the  meditation 
of  my  heart,  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight,  O  Lord, 
my  strength,  and  my  redeemer." 

No  man  can  write  human  history  without  ad- 
mitting and  reckoning  with  the  element  of  human 
depravity,  exposure,  and  curse.  The  gospel  has 
its  place  in  the  system  of  things  as  appropriately 
and  as  fixedly  as  a  star. 

Thus,  then,  does  this  matchless  poem  in  the 
Psalter  bear  us  up  the  heights  of  nature  only  to 
show  us  in  a  sudden  tempest  the  fairer  heights  of 
grace.  They  say  that  shepherds  in  the  Tyrol 
move  forward  up  the  mountains  over  sunny  slopes 
in  order  to  attain  brilliant  pastures  for  their  flocks. 
But  sometimes  there  falls  suddenly  over  them  a 
great  storm  of  sleet  and  snow.  Then  it  is  that 
they  leave  the  open  fields,  and  seek  the  worn 
tracks  of  the  highway.  For  there  at  every  turn 
stands  the  emblem  of  crucifixion,  and  the  drifts 
never  overtop  the  shrines.  With  one  glad  cry — 
"The  cross!  the  cross!" — they  know  they  are 
safe  from  any  further  perilous  straying,  and  are 
close  to  a  refuge  secure  and  serene. 


XXII. 

THE    AVAILABLENESS    OF   PRAYER. 

"  From  the  end  of  the  earth  will  I  cry  unto  thee,  when 

MY     HEART    IS    OVERWHELMED  :     LEAD    ME   TO    THE    ROCK   THAT    IS 
HIGHER  THAN  I." — Psalui  6l    :  2. 

The  single  thought  to  which  your  attention  is 
directed  when  you  repeat  this  text  is  concerning 
the  real  availableness  of  prayer  as  an  instrument 
of  help,  when  one  is  in  undoubted  straits  of 
trouble.  The  analysis  of  the  verse  is  quite  sug- 
gestive. 

I.  The  reacJi  of  efficacious  prayer  is  announced 
in  the  words — "  From  the  end  of  the  earth," 

II.  The  occasion  of  importunate  prayer  is  indi- 
cated in  the  words — "  When  my  heart  is  over- 
whelmed." 

III.  The  7iatnre  of  true  prayer  is  pointed  out  in 
the  words — "  Will  I  cry  unto  thee." 

IV.  And  even  the  general  S7ibjcct-matter  of  all 
prayer  is  given  us  in  the  words — "  Lead  me  to 
the  rock  that  is  higher  than  I." 

Let  us  note  these  in  turn.  For  everybody  can 
find  a  lesson  here.  This  verse,  as  a  whole,  fur- 
nishes an  excellent  motto  for  all  trying  experience. 
God  is  near  to  all  that  call  upon  him  in  truth. 
He    waits   for   no   selected    spot   to  be  attained. 


252  SERMONS   IN    SONGS. 

"  The  end  of  the  earth."  One's  actual  distance. 

Hence  his  promise  becomes  unbounded  without 
being  extravagant,  and  grows  at  times  transcend- 
ent without  becoming  vague. 

I.  First  of  all,  we  learn  here  that  the  reacJi  of 
prayer,  as  an  actual  and  efficacious  instrument  of 
good,  is  literally  limitless. 

The  singularly  chosen  expression  in  this  verse 
occurs  likewise  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  : 
"  The  end  of  the  earth,  the  end  of  the  heavens." 
That  is  to  say,  the  line  where  the  earth  and  the 
heavens  come  in  contact — the  outermost  verge  of 
what  we  call  the  visible  horizon. 

Prayer  indeed  takes  no  account  of  human  meas- 
urements. David  had  reason  to  believe  he  should 
be  hunted  into  the  wildest  refuges  of  the  land. 
His  outlaw  experiences  at  the  cave  of  AduUam 
may  have  been  Avhat  suggested  to  him  here  the 
figure  of  a  roek.  The  legions  of  his  rebellious 
subjects  would  be  eagerly  in  pursuit  of  him  the 
moment  the  day  dawned.  Nor  did  he  at  all  know 
if  he  should  ever  again  be  at  rest.  Of  only  this 
one  thing  was  he  certain — he  could  not  get  be- 
yond "  the  end  of  the  earth."  And  anywhere  in- 
side of  that  was  within  ear-shot  of  heaven. 

I.  There  is  an  actual  distance,  therefore,  for 
which  this  text  offers  provision.  One  far  away 
from  his  family  altar,  or  absent  from  the  sanctuary 
most  beloved  and  familiar  to  him,  feels  the  separa- 
tion frequently  with  much  acuteness  of -pain.  But 
David  was  sure  that  what  he  wanted  was  God, 
more  than  the  mere  house  of  God.     If  we  take  the 


THE   AVAILABLENESS   OF   PRAYER.  253 

Providential  distance.  Spiritual  distance. 

wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth,  even  there  the  nearest  thing  in 
the  universe  to  us  is  the  mercy-seat. 

Hence  the  sailor  on  the  sea,  the  traveler  on  the 
mountain,  the  hastening  courier  outside  of  the 
borders,  the  remotest  sentinel  that  paces  his 
frontier  round  under  the  stars,  is  in  no  way  con- 
ceivable so  easily  reached  by  the  friends  who 
watch  and  wait  for  him  at  home,  as  he  can  be 
away  around  by  the  throne  of  grace,  where  sits 
the  good  God,  patient,  prayer- hearing,  and 
prayer-answering. 

2.  There  is  also  "d. providential  distance  for  which 
the  text  offers  provision.  Some  of  God's  children 
always  seem  to  themselves  to  live  a  separated  ex- 
istence. Cut  off  by  the  circumstances  of  a  nar- 
rower lot,  it  is  true  they  see  little,  and  feel  less,  of 
the  great  related  world  of  pulsing  life  around 
them. 

Many  a  solitary  man  has  come  into  this  world, 
and  grown  up  into  maturity,  with  a  pathetic  sense 
of  having  never  had  any  rights  :  "as  for  the 
mighty  man,  he  had  the  earth  ;  and  the  honorable 
man  dwelt  in  it  ;"  and  between  themselves  these 
two  appeared  to  have  divided  -pretty  much  all 
there  is.  So  the  poor  man  often  dwells  apart, 
and  wonders  if  any  one  except  God  regards  him. 

3.  There  is  also  a  spiritual  distance  for  which 
the  text  offers  provision.  Certain  seasons  to  all 
of  us  there  are  when  we  feel  secluded  from  all 
human  fellowship.     An  experience  lies  upon  our 


254  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  king's  throne-room.  Calvin's  word  "  tumbled." 

souls  which  we  are  persuaded  no  one  can  under- 
stand. Our  heavy  secret  remams  unshared.  We 
walk  apart.  You  have  been  caught  in  a  crowd 
sometimes  when  you  were  walking  on  unrecog- 
nized and  unheeded.  There  is  a  spiritual  loneli- 
ness, we  all  know,  which  grows  deeper  and  more 
pensive  among  thronging  multitudes  of  strangers. 
To  be  forced  into  personal  contact  with  those 
with  whom  we  have  nothing  in  common  augments 
this  sense  of  distance. 

In  such  moments  there  is  sure  relief  in  the  sug- 
gestion of  this  verse.  From  the  outermost  reach 
of  a  conventional  or  spiritual  seclusion  we  can 
speak  to  God,  just  as  if  we  were  kneeling  in  tho- 
throne-room  of  the  palace,  and  before  us,  bending 
to  hear,  was  the  king's  face. 

II.  The  next  lesson  of  our  text  has  reference  to 
particular  occasions  for  prayer.  There  is  intima- 
tion that  when  one's  heart  is  overwhelmed,  and 
fresh  exigency  arises,  new  measures  of  grace,  or 
increased  force  of  help,  may  be  expected. 

The  term  rendered  overzvhchncd  is  given  by  the 
commentator  Calvin  in  these  words — "  When  my 
spirit  is  tumbled."  A  rough  rendering,  he  him- 
self confesses  ;  but  surely  not  deficient  in  strength. 
The  original  Hebrew  has  in  it  a  figure  that  seems 
more  to  my  liking  still.  It  reads — "  When  my 
heart  is  covered  up."  That  is  to  say,  covered  as 
one  in  great  sorrow  covers  his  face  with  a  mantle. 
And  I  take  this  clause  to  mean  just  two  things — 
both  worth  rcmemberinof. 


THE   AVAILABLENESS   OF   PRAYER.  255 

Some  heart  of  our  own.  But  a  limit  reached. 


1.  One  is  this  :  let  us  understand  in  every  case 
that  a  real  Christian  is  expected  to  keep  up  some  Jieart 
by  himself.  He  must  exhibit  some  available  forti- 
tude of  his  own,  under  the  common  grace  of  God. 
Some  say  that  the  word  courage  comes  from  eor 
and  ago,  and  may  mean  keep -heart,  or  heart- 
action.  I  am  not  going  to  settle  that  ;  but  I  know 
that  many  persons,  not  very  courageous,  are  con- 
stitutionally apt  to  make  mountains  out  of  their 
mole-hills  of  trial.  For  this  I  am  not  at  all  cer- 
tain the  Bible  has  any  sort  of  respect.  I  have 
never  been  able  to  discover  any  help  whatever  for 
a  merely  hypochondriac  mind,  cherished  by  a 
converted  person.  There  is  so  much  real  trouble 
in  the  world  that  inspiration  has  not  seemed  will- 
ing to  waste  force  in  soothing  what  is  only  imag- 
inary. Cheerful  courage  will  enable  us,  under 
divine  love,  to  meet  most  of  the  minor  worries  of 
life. 

2.  The  other  suggestion  to  be  noted  just  here  is 
this  :  there  is  an  actual  limit  to  Jiuman  endurance. 
There  is  a  point  beyond  which  even  the  truest  and 
bravest  Christian  is  not  expected  to  go  without 
special  succor.  When  our  Lord  rebuked  the  sea, 
as  the  frightened  disciples  waked  him  up  with  the 
absurd  remark,  "  Master,  carest  thou  not  that  we 
perish?"  he  paused  to  rebuke  them  first.  He 
seemed  to  think  they  ought  to  have  stood  the 
tempest  longer  before  making  such  an  ado  about 
it.  To  the  last  extreme  and  strain  of  Christian 
endurance    we   are   to   hold    on.     But   when   the 


256  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  Strong  crying  and  tears."  The  Mount  of  Olives. 


heart  is  overwhelmed,  there  is  not  an  hour  to  be 
lost.  Then  God  will  certainly  come  in  with  an 
irresistible  re-enforcement  of  grace  and  power, 
and  will  plant  us  up  high  out  of  peril,  in  an  in- 
stant of  sublime  interposition. 

III.  But  our  text  takes  us  forward  a  step  be- 
yond this.  It  gives  us,  in  the  third  place,  a  lesson 
concerning  the  nature  of  true  prayer.  It  is  called 
explicitly  here  a  cry. 

1.  We  admit  the  word  is  a  strong  one.  But  it 
finds  its  parallel  and  explanation  in  our  Saviour's 
history,  as  he  exercised  his  priestly  office.  We 
are  told  that  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  "  he  offered 
up  pra3^ers  and  supplications,  witJi  strong  crying  and 
tears,  unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him  from 
death,  and  was  heard  in  that  he  feared."  Alas, 
how  rarely  is  the  stillness  of  this  world's  apathy 
broken  nowadays  by  any  wrestling  of  supplica- 
tion which  could  be  called  a  real  cry  of  the  soul — 
"  strong  crying  and  tears"  in  the  shadows  ! 

2.  It  adds  to  this  parallel  of  language  to  find  that 
Christ,  the  second  David,  uttered  his  cry  pre- 
cisely on  the  same  spot  where  the  psalmist  Avas 
now  sitting.  Jesus  was  a  king  ;  but  he  went  out 
from  the  capital  across  the  same  little  ravine,  into 
the  same  mountain,  the  night  of  his  betrayal.  He 
knelt  in  the  midnight  of  a  quite  similar  desertion. 
He  suffered  the  fierce  agony  of  treachery  under 
the  same  olive-trees.  He  toiled  up  the  same 
slope  with  but  three  chosen  companions  that 
duns:  to  him.     He  looked  off  from  the  elevation 


THE   AVAILABLENESS   OF   PRAYER.  257 

Both  Davids  prayed.  John  Knox's  cry. 

upon  the  same  insurgent  city  that  rejected  him. 
He  felt  he  was  an  outcast  and  a  fugitive  in  the 
world  where  he  had  a  right  to  reign.  But  both 
the  Davids  prayed.  Each  of  these  royal  sufferers 
turned  instinctively  for  succor  to  the  same  divine 
source,  and  each  found  it.  When  the  human  soul 
feels  its  real  need,  it  does  not  wait  to  construct 
petitions  in  order  ;  it  simply  cries. 

3.  It  is  our  opportunity  that  fails  us  in  the  hour 
of  need.  We  do  not  cry  unto  God,  None  stir- 
reth  himself  up  to  lay  hold  on  God.  When  Brit- 
ain was  all  in  agitation,  and  the  papacy  conspired 
with  the  feudal  lords  to  put  down  the  Reforma- 
tion, late  one  night  John  Knox  was  seen  to  leave 
his  study,  passing  out  into  an  apartment  behind 
it.  A  friend  followed  him,  listening  at  the  door. 
The  grand  old  man  fell  heavily  on  his  knees,  and 
waited  for  a  few  moments  in  utter  silence.  Soon 
a  series  of  convulsive  sobs  alone,  as  his  form 
swayed  to  and  fro,  broke  upon  the  stillness. 
Then  they  began  in  deep  murmuring  accents  to 
frame  themselves  into  articulate  form — "  O  God, 
give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die  !"  And  then  that 
strong  spirit  was  bowed  to  the  very  floor  in 
wrestling.  Once  more  the  same  cry  burst  forth 
from  his  lips — "  Oh,  give  me  Scotland,  for  thee 
and  for  thy  glory  !"  Again  the  room  was  silent. 
And  after  another  hush,  anew  and  with  intenser 
pathos,  arose  that  unvarying  petition,  "  O  Lord, 
give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die  !" 

Can  anybody  doubt  that  God  eventually  gave 


258  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


The  rock  that  is  higher.  We  go — the  rock  waits. 


Scotland  to  John  Knox's  prayers  ?  Such  cries  of 
the  importunate  soul  are  never  turned  back  unan- 
swered on  its  wishes. 

IV.  There  remains  only  one  other  clause  in  our 
text  ;  that  is  the  actual  petition  with  which  it  is 
closed — "  Lead  me  to  the  rock  that  is  higher  than 
I  !"  This  will  suggest  a  lesson  concerning  the 
subject-matter  of  prayer. 

We  need  not  suppose  King  David  was  giving 
us  anything  like  a  fixed  formula  with  which  to  ap- 
proach God  for  help.  Nor  shall  we  gain  anything 
by  a  cool  analysis  of  the  figure  he  employs.  Of 
course  we  understand  that  the  Rock  is  God  him- 
self. It  is  his  help,  his  care,  his  protection,  we 
implore.  No  doubt  the  chastened  imagination  of 
each  spiritual  believer  will  deal  better  with  these 
Avords  by  simply  saying  them  over  and  over. 
There  are  times  when  the  heart  rejects  mere  lit- 
erary exposition,  and  revels  in  the  hidden  analo- 
gies of  a  trope.  But  we  may  call  your  attention 
to  a  few  intimations  in  this  prayer  not  exactly 
lying  on  its  surface. 

I.  For  instance,  this:  if  a  man  prays,  "Lead 
me  to  the  Rock,"  he  admits  that  the  rock  is  not  to  be 
led  to  him. 

He  must  be  willing  to  go  at  once  where  the 
rock  is.  In  all  the  allotments  of  divine  provi- 
dence it  is  our  purposes,  not  God's,  which  are  to 
change.  We  must  adjust  our  will  to  his  ;  he  re- 
mains the  same.  We  go — the  rock  Avaits.  When 
we  propose  definitely  to  put  ourselves  under  the 


THE   AVAILABLENESS   OF   PRAYER.  259 

The  rock  is  unalterable.  The  rock  is  extensive. 

protection  of  the  Almighty,  it  will  be  necessary 
that  we  just  enter  into  his  entire  counsel.  And 
this  may  involve  immediate  surrender  of  some 
favorite  plans. 

2.  Again  :  Observe  carefully  if  a  man  prays, 
"  Lead  me  to  the  Rock,"  he  must  not  expect  to  re- 
model the  rock. 

It  is  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  cannot  be  con- 
structed according  to  human  counsel.  We  are 
never  to  venture  on  asserting  before  the  all-wise 
God  what  particular  form  of  defence,  relief,  or 
extrication  we  desire.  Every  rock  throws  just 
its  own  shape  into  the  sheltering  shadow  it  casts. 
It  is  enough  if  we  may  sit  under  it  and  be  safe. 
We  hide  ourselves  in  it  till  our  calamities  be  over- 
past. In  the  Song  of  Solomon  the  Spouse  ad- 
dresses the  Bride — Christ  speaks  to  the  Church — ■ 
the  Saviour  whispers  to  the  soul,  "  Oh,  my  dove, 
thou  art  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock. ' '  There  is  allu- 
sion in  all  such  symbolism  of  the  Scriptures  to  the 
suffering  of  our  crucified  Lord,  by  which  the 
atonement  v/as  made.  It  must  never  be  forgot- 
ten that  it  is  only  because  the  Rock  of  Ages  has 
been  cleft  that  any  soul  has  safety  in  it.  The 
shadow  outside  is  providence  ;  anybody  can  be 
permitted  a  while  to  rest  in  that  ;  the  security  in- 
side is  grace.  And  the  deeper  the  trouble,  the 
further  into  the  recess  of  love  we  may  creep. 

3.  Understand,  likewise,  that  if  a  man  prays, 
"  Lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is  higher  than  I,"  he 
is  not  to  expect  he  can  see  all  around  it  at  once. 


26o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 


Help  to  obtain  help.  Anonymous  hymn. 

God  sometimes  hides  us  in  the  secret  of  his 
pavilion,  sometimes  covers  us  with  his  hands. 
Our  best  repose  will  always  be  found  in  simple 
trust.  We  bend  our  will — then  wait.  We  say, 
somewhat  ostentatiously,  Here  we  are  !  And 
God  replies  quietly,  Well,  remain  there.  The 
processes  of  providence  will  then  move  on  undis- 
turbedly over  our  heads.  And  possibly,  under 
our  secure  retreat,  we  shall  never*  even  hear  the 
intricate  sounds  of  their  tread. 

4.  And  note,  finally,  from  this  exquisitely 
worded  prayer,  that  if  a  man  asks,  "  Lead  me  to 
the  Rock,"  Jte  admits  he  cannot  certainly  find  the 
way  alone  always. 

So  he  is  imploring  help  to  obtain  help.  It  is  a 
fine  thing  to  do  sometimes — to  pray  to  be  taught 
to  pray.  The  prince-adversary  of  all  good  labors 
very  hard  to  break  our  confidence.  He  begins 
afar  off  to  ply  us  with  temptation.  He  dulls  our 
faith.  He  benumbs  our  anxiety.  He  undermines 
our  hope.  But  every  saint  is  permitted  to  pray 
for  more  liveliness  in  prayer.  When  we  want 
most  to  go  to  the  rock,  we  may  pray,  Lead  me. 
And  the  moment  we  gain  a  little  encouragement 
from  being  under  its  shadow,  we  may  hurry  into 
the  cleft. 

"  So  near — so  very  near — to  God,  nearer  I  cannot  be  ; 
For  in  the  person  of  his  Son  I  am  as  near  as  he  ! 
So  dear  —  so  very  dear — to  God,  dearer  I  cannot  be  ; 
The  love  wherewith  he  loves  his  Son  is  the  love  he  bears  to 
me  !" 


XXIII. 

GUIDANCE    BY  THE    EYE. 

"  I  WILL  INSTRUCT  THEE  AND  TEACH  THEE  IN  THE  WAY  WHICH 
THOU    SHALT    GO;    I    WILL    GUIDE   THEE    WITH    MINE   EYE." — Psalm 

32  :8. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  psalm  David  seems  to 
be  bewailing  the  stress  into  Avhich  he  had  been 
brought  by  some  calamities  of  his,  intensified  by 
some  sins.  He  is  tracing  out  his  line  of  experi- 
ence, from  guilt  to  penitence,  from  penitence  to 
prayer,  from  prayer  to  deliverance,  from  deliver- 
ance to  praise. 

Then  God  speaks.  He  says  he  is  going  here- 
after to  take  his  servant's  case  in  hand.  He 
promises  unremitting  care  and  guidance.  This 
seems  to  cheer  David  almost  unusually  ;  and  so 
his    spiritual  song    closes  in  strains  of  exuberant 

joy. 

We  can  have  no  hesitancy  in  extending  to  all 
believers  the  engagement  here  proffered  to  David  ; 
for  the  psalm  is  entitled  Maschil,  and  is  the  earliest 
of  a  most  interesting  group  which  bear  that  name. 
The  word  means  "to  give  instruction;"  and  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  its  reach  is  wide  enousfh 
for  all  ages,  when  we  remember  that  the  apostle 
Paul  quotes  it  in  the  New  Testament. 


262  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  remarkable  figure.  A  horse  or  a  mule. 

The  main  thought  in  the  text  is  concerning 
the  guidance,  which  is  covenanted  in  difficult 
times,  by  the  Almighty  himself.  And  this  attracts 
our  notice  specially  by  reason  of  a  most  delicate 
and  remarkable  figure  of  language  under  which 
the  promise  appears.  It  is  not  with  the  usual  form 
of  articulate  speech  ;  it  is  not  with  the  force  of  one 
leading  by  the  extended  hand  ;  it  is  not  by  mere 
mute  guide-boards  of  enactment,  like  the  upright 
posts  on  Jewish  highways  ;  it  is  not  by  any  or- 
dinary methods  at  all  that  Jehovah  proposes  to 
bring  his  people  forward  in  the  way  which  they 
should  go.  He  says  he  will  do  it  with  a  look. 
The  words  are  most  singular  :  "  I  will  guide  thee 
with  mine  eye  ;  I  will  instruct  thee  and  teach  thee 
in  the  way." 

If  any  one  becomes  discouraged  at  such  an  an- 
nouncement, and  apprehends  that  here  is  a  form 
of  expression  so  tenuous  and  poetic  as  to  baffle  his 
study,  surely  it  needs  only  to  be  said  to  him  that 
there  is  presented  in  the  following  verse  a  con- 
trast in  language,  and  an  alternative  in  experi- 
ence, not  only  quite  unimaginative  in  detail,  but 
possessed  of  a  certain  rude  decisiveness  of  utter- 
ance, so  as  to  render  clear  the  meaning  of  the  en- 
tire counsel.  For  when  the  engagement  has  been 
made  the  admonition  is  added.  The  Lord  sa3'S 
he  will  give  you  delicate  direction,  unless  you 
prefer  to  receive  rough.  "  I  will  guide  thee  with 
mine  eye.  Be  ye  not  as  the  horse  or  as  the  mule, 
which    have    no    understanding  ;    whose    mouth 


GUIDANCE  BY  THE  EYE.  263 

Two  ways  of  guiding.  Alacrity  of  obedience. 


must  be  held  in  with  bit  and  bridle,  lest  they  come 
near  unto  thee."  Of  course  the  intimation  is  un- 
mistakable. God  offers  to  become  our  instructor 
if  we  will  be  his  pupils.  And  then  he  declares  he 
has  two  ways  of  guiding  and  governing  ;  one  by 
the  eye,  and  the  other  by  the  whip  and  curb,  and 
that  he  prefers  we  would  choose  the  first. 

The  relationship  assumed  in  such  a  figure  as 
this  must  surely  be  one  of  great  intimacy.  It  can- 
not all  be  centred  in  the  teacher,  for  it  demands 
a  certain  carefulness  of  observation  and  alacrity  of 
obedience  which  only  the  scholar  can  possess.  If 
God  spoke  audibly,  some  inattention  could  be  for- 
given ;  for  a  voice  would  break  in  upon  listless- 
ness,  or  even  arouse  from  slumber.  But  an  eye 
must  be  seen  to  be  understood,  and  must  be 
watched  for  its  expressions  whenever  they  shift. 

We  all  know  that  whereas  not  a  few  parents 
there  are  who  never  seem  able  to  govern  even 
their  own  household  without  violence  and  noise, 
there  are  others  who  are  accustomed  to  bend  their 
children  to  obedience  by  a  mere  flitting  mystery 
of  countenance  which  they  read.  Part  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  this  beautiful  discipline  belongs  to  the 
skill  of  the  father,  part  to  the  disposition  of  the 
child.  Even  the  youngest  in  such  a  family  be- 
comes unconsciously  trained  to  appreciate  a  note 
of  warning  or  approval,  without  so  much  as  wait- 
ing for  any  S3dlables  to  be  spoken,  a  mere  turn  of 
the  face,  simply  the  gesture  of  a  silent  feature, 
sufficing  quite    as  well  as  a  command.     So  that 


264  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  proper  family.  "  Eyes  right !     Attention.!" 

almost  all  of  us  can  remember  some  attractive  in- 
stance of  family  association  in  which  it  verily 
seemed  as  if  the  children  perused  looks  and  ex- 
pressions, as  if  they  knew  the  eye  quite  as  well  as 
the  tongue  ;  and  in  sweet  mood  of  noiseless  ac- 
quiescence and  loving  zeal  hurried  on  their  errands 
at  hints  of  suggestion  as  unnoticed  to  others  as 
they  were  final  to  them. 

We  have  seen  something  of  this  also  in  military 
life.  In  the  high  ambition  of  excellence  in  arms 
many  a  regiment  seems  to  become  aware  of  its 
commander's  orders  by  a  kind  of  inarticulate  in- 
stinct. The  eyes  of  the  platoons  are  constantly 
ordered  to  the  full  front  ;  yet  do  they  almost  mi- 
raculously manage  to  keep  the  captain's  face  be- 
fore them,  and  read,  in  a  flash  of  curious  intelli- 
gence, what  he  would  next  have  them  produce  in 
the  intricacies  of  their  evolutions.  "  Eyes  right  ! 
Attention  !" 

Now  I  do  not  intend  to  reply  to  any  one  who 
comments  upon  the  extreme  difficulty  of  receiv- 
ing guidance  from  an  eye,  that  it  can  be  done 
easily,  carelessly,  and  off-hand.  I  am  sure  it  de- 
mands not  only  the  utmost  attention,  but  even  a 
strong  solicitude  to  know  what  is  in  the  inmost 
mind  of  him  who  guides.  The  men  who  prefer 
the  bit  and  the  bridle  are  those  who  possess  some- 
thing of  the  exquisite  dulness  of  the  horse  and 
the  mule,  or  they  would  not  willingly  choose  their 
discipline. 

You  need  not  go  any  further  for  a  fresh  illus- 


GUIDANCE   BY   THE   EYE.  265 

Signals  from  a  baton.  Wilfulness  destructive. 

tration  of  what  is  intended  by  this  figure  than  to  a 
choir  of  singers,  or  an  orchestra  of  instrumental- 
ists. The  difficulties  of  the  music  may  demand 
their  utmost  attention,  and  the  unintelligent  tubes 
and  strings,  upon  which  their  best  genius  is  bent, 
may  require  the  arrest  of  every  kind  of  diversion. 
And  yet  you  shall  mark  with  wonder  how  each 
performer  in  the  whole  band  will  manage  to  read, 
from  a  passing  flash  of  a  glance  of  the  leader's 
eye,  time  and  tone,  whispering  hush  or  mighty 
crescendo.  A  whole  vocabulary  of  signals  is  in 
the  rapid  look  which  follows  the  baton. 

I  must  needs  press  the  point  here  of  an  instan- 
taneous obedience  to  the  direction  which  is  found. 
We  have  no  question  as  to  the  roughness  of  dis- 
cipline that  musician  would  receive  whose  wilful- 
ness interposed  objection,  and  whose  hand  inter- 
jected discord.  He  will  be  the  best  among  the 
company  whose  alertness  even  anticipates  the 
leader  by  knowing  his  tastes  and  becoming  used 
to  his  habits  beforehand.  But  one  essential  thing 
must  be  borne  in  mind  :  to  all  guidance  by  the 
eye  immediate  acquiescence  is  necessary.  Ques- 
tions of  supremacy  of  will  are  decided  by  the  bit 
and  bridle. 

It  seems  best  to  fall  back  upon  the  simple  state- 
ment of  the  text.  It  appears  that  God  is  our  in- 
structor, and  he  is  not  only  teaching  us  by  his  eye, 
but  skilling  us  how  to  read  his  eye.  We  may  have 
noticed  in  many  of  our  well-trained  academies 
these  beautiful  signals  passing  between  the  desk 


266  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

So  in  a  school.  Delicate  direction. 

and  the  benches.  Lessons  were  nowhere  better 
learned,  and  yet  study  was  never  disturbed  by 
boisterousness  of  request  or  command.  Yet,  if 
any  one  asks,  How  can  a  child  study  to  advan- 
tage when  he  is  compelled  to  keep  watch  of  his 
teacher?  theanswer  must  be  made  thus  :  A  coarse 
instructor  might  be  expected  to  have  a  band  of 
rude  scholars.  But  a  refined  and  gentle  instructor 
will  soon  establish  between  himself  and  his  classes 
a  new  and  delicate  instrumentality  of  communi- 
cation. A  hand  uplifted,  even  a  finger  bent  in 
beckoning,  will  in  no  instance  pass  unseen.  Minds 
will  grow  acute  under  slight  and  tenuous  lines  of 
intercourse.  Delicate  hints  refine  the  disposition 
and  render  the  attention  alert  to  quick  apprecia- 
tion :  "  Spirits  are  not  finely  touched  save  to  fine 
issues." 

The  entire  figure  of  our  text  receives  its  expla- 
nation in  this  principle.  A  full-hearted,  solicitous, 
alert,  obedient  Christian,  accustomed  to  inquire 
constantly  of  God  for  direction  in  the  performance 
of  his  duty,  will  early  find  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
responds  with  new  means  of  communion.  So  cer- 
tain is  this  answer,  that  any  truly  prayerful  child 
of  God  may  generally  rely  upon  the  exercise  of 
his  own  affectionate  judgment,  his  own  right  rea- 
son, to  tell  him  whether  he  is  going  in  the  wrong 
or  right  course. 

No  affectionate  father  will  be  likely  to  visit  with 
severe  reproach  even  the  mistakes  of  his  children, 
if  he  sees  they  are  trying  with   all  their  hearts  to 


GUIDANCE   BY   THE   EYE.  26/ 

Habitual  reference  to  God.  Where  is  God's  eye  ? 

understand  him  and  obey  him.  And  our  Father 
in  heaven  will  look  leniently  and  lovingly  on  any 
one  who  habitually  asks  him  for  help,  and  then 
moves  resolutely  on  doing  the  best  he  knows  how. 
Nor  will  such  a  believer  find  himself  forsaken. 
There  will  be  hints  of  unexpected  suggestion 
arising  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  will  give  him  an  inward 
witness,  confirming  him  and  informing  him  in 
every  true  conviction  of  duty. 

I  am  sorrowfully  aware  just  at  this  point  that 
some  who  hear  me  will  not  be  able  at  first  to 
comprehend  the  reach  of  this  promise.  They 
will  think  that  the  expression  in  our  text  upon 
which  we  are  laying  so  much  stress  is  very  pretty 
as  a  poetic  conceit,  but  helps  no  one  in  hours  of 
perplexity.  Here,  for  example,  is  a  discouraged 
Christian,  who  exclaims  :  "  I  pray,  but  I  get  no 
wiser  ;  I  seek,  but  I  receive  no  answer  ;  I  have 
very  vague  notions  about  divine  guidance  any 
way  ;  and  surely  this  figure  does  not  make  it  any 
clearer;  where  is  God's  eye  ?"  To  such  inquiries 
there  needs  to  be  given  an  intelligible  reply.  It 
has  pleased  our  Maker  to  reveal  himself  in  two 
ways  to  bewildered  men — by  Revelation  and  Provi- 
dence. 

The  Word  comes  first.  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp 
unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path."  In  a 
general  way,  we  all  see  and  admit  this.  It  is  re- 
served to  God's  intimate  friends  to  discover  that 
some  of  the  finest  things  in  the  Bible  do  not  lie  on 
the    surface    at   all.     Some   of   the   most   helpful 


268  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Revelation  comes  first.  A  mother's  letter. 

counsels  come  out  sidewise,  and  indirectly,  as  if 
our  heavenly  Instructor  had  purposely  meant  to 
have  us  grow  quick  at  inference.  There  is  hardly 
a  single  promise  in  the  Old  or  New  Testament 
the  significance  of  which  is  exhausted  in  one  sit- 
ting. We  are  not  to  read  the  word  in  a  chance 
or  superstitious  way,  as  if  one  were  to  say — Now 
I  will  obey  the  first  text  my  eye  catches:  and  then 
opens  the  book  at  random.  Nothing  can  be  fool- 
isher  than  a  consultation  of  the  Bible  like  this. 
We  happen  to  know  that  the  not  very  edifying 
result  was  in  one  case  reached  thus:  "Adam, 
Sheth,  Enosh,"  out  of  which  came  neither  repose 
nor  information. 

I  am  so  anxious  that  no  one  shall  miss  the  mean- 
ing of  a  declaration  so  precious  that  I  will  at- 
tempt by  an  illustration,  as  accurate  as  it  is 
homely,  to  render  it  plain.  You  may  suppose  a 
faithful  mother,  called  upon  to  undergo  extended 
absence  from  her  family,  leaves  a  long  written 
series  of  directions  for  them  how  to  proceed  in 
daily  duty.  It  is  evident  that  these  children,  in 
the  use  of  her  letter,  will  pass  through  three 
stages  or  steps  of  experience. 

They  will  have  no  difficulty  with  those  specific 
counsels  which  answer  their  questions  in  direct 
terms.  That  is,  they  will  be  perfectly  satisfied, 
when  they  are  asking  :  "  How  shall  we  act  in 
such  or  such  a  case?"  to  find  her  words  reply- 
ing, "  In  such  a  case  you  are  to  act  thus."  This 
is  perfectly  easy. 


GUIDANCE   BY   THE   EYE.  269 

The  children's  interpretation.  Instinctive  recognition. 

The  next  step  will  have  t()  be  taken  when  they 
are  in  doubt  concerning-  an  exigency  which  in  its 
own  form  they  cannot  find  she  has  ever  mentioned. 
They  will  have  to  draw  an  inference  from  some- 
thing else.  And  we  shall  all  agree  in  asserting- 
that  it  will  be — not  necessarily  the  oldest  or  most 
intelligent  child — but  certainly  the  most  affection- 
ate and  observing  of  them  all,  who  will  lead  the 
way  out  of  the  dilemma  by  saying  :  "  I  know  that 
if  she  thought  in  that  other  case  we  ought  to  do 
thus  and  so,  she  would  be  sure  to  think,  in  this 
case,  we  ought  to  do  thus  and  so."  Now  this 
step  is  not  so  easy  as  the  first,  but  it  is  not  at  all 
impossible. 

Then  comes  a  third.  Here  in  the  letter,  as  they 
read  it  over,  they  keep  finding  things  that  some 
of  them  cannot  possibly  understand.  They  com- 
ment a  good  deal  ;  but  it  generally  turns  out  that 
one  of  them  remembers  a  little  hint  of  caution 
giv^en  long  ago  about  a  fault  of  hers  ;  or  another 
of  them  perceives  that  in  her  case  there  is  room 
for  improvement  ;  or  another  of  them  finds  tears 
of  joy  in  her  eyes,  tears  of  unaffected  joy,  as  she 
says,  I  know  I  do  not  deserve  an3'thing,  but  it 
would  not  be  honest  for  me  to  deny  that  I  think 
she  meant  me  when  she  put  in  that  sweet  sentence 
of  comfort  and  affection  ;  and  I  have  not  a  doubt 
there  is  more  than  one  for  each  of  us,  if  we  stud}'^ 
for  them." 

Is  it  not  plain  that  those  affectionate  children 
will  prefer  to  find  their  mother's  face  almost  look- 


270  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  prepared  surprise.  Then  comes  Providence. 

ing  up  at  them  out  of  the  letter — will  love  her  the 
more,  because  she  has  put  things  a  little  out  of 
sight  ;  will  say  now  and  then,  as  they  read,  *'  Oh, 
how  like  her  that  seems,"  because  a  slight  turn  of 
expression  in  the  sentence  shows  like  a  twinkle  in 
her  e3^e  ? 

Now  we  have  God  once  saying  to  us  in  exact 
terms  :  "  As  one  whom  his  mother  comforteth,  so 
will  I  comfort  you."  And  I  have  no  hesitancy  at 
all  in  asserting  that  the  unfailing  promises  of  this 
dear  old  Bible  are  the  nearest  things  in  the  world 
to  a  mother's  letters  any  desolate  heart  can  find. 
And  really  the  sweetest  thing  about  them  is  often 
their  indirection — their  hints  of  helpful  sympathy 
— their  mere  suggestions  of  care  and  confidence. 
For  they  seem  to  show  God  in  a  light  so  deli- 
cately kind  and  thoughtful,  because  he  comes  tow- 
ard us  with  a  prepared  surprise  and  in  a  round- 
about way. 

Providence  comes  next.  Put  with  the  Word 
now  the  general  providential  arrangements  of  our 
life  beneath  God's  care.  These  all  seem  common- 
place, until  we  learn  that  they  have  a  lesson  to 
teach.  When  rehearsing  some  histories  of  good 
people,  the  Apostle  once  said  :  "  These  things  hap- 
pened unto  thevi  for  our  examples. ' '  Man}^  of  us 
are  very  dull  pupils  ;  and,  singularly  enough,  God 
sometimes  teaches  us  by  making  us  monitors  for 
a  day.  We  learn  our  lessons  better  by  trj^ing  to 
teach  other  people  to  learn  theirs.  It  may  require 
much  penetration  to  see  how  cutting  down  ad- 


GUIDANCE    BY   THE   EYE.  2/1 


Three  unalterable  conditions.  Michael  Angelo. 

vances  ;  how  hindrances  help  ;  how  defeat  in- 
spirits ;  how  captivity  forces  ;  how  humiliation 
uplifts  ;  how  heavily  loading  hastens  human  pace. 
These  we  learn  actually  more  quickly  out  of 
others'  discipline  than  our  own.  Still  they  are 
all  in  our  own,  and  many  other  lessons  than  these. 

Let  me  restate  the  three  unalterable  conditions 
of  understanding  God  :  i.  Watch  him  attentively  ; 
2.  Study  him  affectionately  ;  3,  Obey  him  imme- 
diately. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  that  wonderful  verse, 
"  Then  shall  we  know,  if  we,  follozv  on  to  know  the 
Lord."  Providence  will  frequently  open  a  way 
most  mysteriously  and  unexpectedly,  if  we  rely 
upon  him  to  do  it.  Nay,  more  ;  oftentimes  there 
is  a  way  wide  open  already,  only  we  perversely 
will  not  see  it.  Some  Christians  never  seem  to 
catch  any  information  from  experience.  They  do 
not  conceive  of  God  as  being  present  and  reveal- 
ing himself  in  the  ordinary  events  of  their  lives. 
Others,  again,  know  instantly  and  intuitively 
whether  a  way  is  hedged  up  or  open.  And  the 
difference  is  only  in  the  habit  of  looking  for  what 
God  would  say  to  them.  Our  duty  is  to  push  on 
straight  tov/ard  what  seems  to  us  is  God's  will. 

It  is  related  of  Michael  Angelo  that  when  he 
came  down  from  the  scaffolding,  from  which  for 
some  weeks  he  had  been  painting  the  frescoes  on 
a  high  ceiling,  he  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
looking  upward  that  it  was  with  real  pain  he  forced 
himself   to   turn    his    eyes    to    the   ground.     Oh, 


2/2  SERMONS    IN   SONGS. 

Earthly  education.  Heavenly  fruition. 

blessed  entanglement  of  these  spiritual  orbs  of 
ours  !  Would  that  they  might  evermore  be  so 
arrested,  habituated,  held  by  the  guiding  Eye  of 
divine  love,  that  we  could  never  be  satisfied  to 
turn  them  from  his  face  !  "  My  heart  is  fixed,  O 
God,  my  heart  is  fixed  :  I  will  sing  and  give  praise. 
My  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord." 

And  now  we  shall  all  do  well  to  remember  that 
it  is  thus  and  thus  alone  that  the  true  believer 
makes  the  disciplines  of  this  life  most  serviceable 
in  fitting  him  for  the  delights  of  the  life  to  come. 
It  is  reckoned  among  the  choice  felicities  of 
heaven  that  all  the  members  of  Christ's  household 
are  to  be  gathered  into  his  immediate  presence  : 
"they  shall  see  his  face."  No  longer  will  warn- 
ing be  needed  concerning  a  bit  or  a  bridle.  The 
communions  of  that  blessed  existence  are  to  be 
conducted  by  glances  of  intelligent  love.  Hence, 
when  the  Lord  says,"  I  will  guide  thee  with  mine 
eye,"  we  can  be  content  to  answer,  "  Thou  shalt 
guide  me  by  thy  counsel,  and  afterward  receive 
me  to  glory." 


XXIV. 
THE   EUCHARIST    HYMN. 

"And  when  they  had  sung  an  hymn,  they  went  out  into 
THE  Mount  of  Olives." — MarJz  14  :  26. 

Strange  thought  is  this  which  is  forced  in  upon 
our  minds  by  the  continuous  record  of  the  last 
week  of  our  Lord's  life.  He  seems  to  be  singing 
very  much  of  the  time.  He  quotes  one  of  the 
psalms  in  the  very  act  of  dying.  And  now  we 
find  that  he  starts  out  upon  his  journey  to  Geth- 
semane  with  a  hymn  upon  his  lips.  We  should 
like  to  know  more  of  this  experience  ;  let  us  take 
up  our  questions  one  by  one, 

I.  The  scene  would  be  more  picturesque  if  we 
could  settle  a  few  of  the  particulars.  For  example, 
ivhere  luas  this  singing  done  ? 

Some  expositors  say  that  on  the  walk  to  the 
garden  where  Jesus  foreknew  he  was  to  be  ap- 
prehended, out  in  the  air  as  the  company  moved 
down  the  path  toward  the  Kidron,  this  hymn 
from  the  passover  service  received  its  new  birth 
and  baptism  as  a  Christian  institution.  Hardly 
had  they  passed  through  the  door,  over  which 
ma}'  have  trailed  the  vine  which  had  given  Jesus  a 
figure  of  speech  when  he  said,  "  Arise,  let  us  go 
hence,"  just  as    they    were  leaving    the   Upper 


274  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Where  did  they  sing?  Nature  unconsciously  favoring  crime. 

Chamber  in  which  he  had  with  his  disciples  kept 
the  feast,  so  it  has  been  conjectured,  the  Master 
began  to  murmur  this  strain  of  music  ;  and  then  all 
the  band  of  his  friends  took  it  up  with  him,  and 
sang  it  through  to  the  end  ;  in  responsive  strains, 
it  may  have  been.  Thus  some  very  devout  people 
in  modern  times  interpret  the  text  ;  they  reall}^ 
like  the  thought  that  the  march  to  the  passion  was 
so  commenced,  and  they  look  upon  this  singing  as 
a  kind  of  solemn  processional  on  the  way  to  the 
cross. 

One  thing  is  clear  :  they  had  moonlight  that 
night  to  guide  them,  as  they  entered  the  garden, 
and  passed  along  under  the  shadows  of  the  vener- 
able olives.  For  the  Passover  was  always  cele- 
brated at  the  full  of  the  moon.  Sad  as  the  reflec- 
tion may  be,  we  have  to  admit  that  the  same  clear 
shining  pointed  out  the  path  for  another  train, 
the  one  led  by  a  traitorous  disciple  toward  the 
same  serene  spot  hallowed  already,  as  Judas  well 
knew,  by  the  memory  of  many  a  prayer.  How 
unconscious  nature  seems  ever  to  be  of  evil  plans 
that  are  formed  by  the  wicked,  and  how  inno- 
cently sometimes  her  very  best  favors  are  lent  for 
the  consummation  of  crime  !  This  world  was 
fashioned  for  a  better  life  than  it  is  living  now, 
and  men  might  be  happier  than  they  are. 

But  still  most  of  us  prefer  to  think,  with  the 
larger  part  of  the  church  in  all  time,  that  this 
hymn  was  at  least  started  at  the  table  itself,  before 
the   company   went    forth    from    the    room.     We 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  2/5 

Why  did  they  sing  then  ?  David's  parallel  experience. 

think  it  essential  that  it  should  be  considered  as 
the  end  of  the  Passover  service  and  the  beginning 
of  the  gospel  feast  which  took  its  place. 

2.  But  now  it  must  be  confessed  that  such  an 
exercise  appears  in  some  measure  incongruous  : 
ivJiy  was  this  hymn  to  be  sung  tJicn  ? 

Probably  our  Saviour  felt  that  there  would  be 
along  the  ages  the  same  need  for  believers  to  en- 
courage their  hearts  that  there  had  previously 
been.  Certainly,  at  the  time  when  this  singing 
took  place,  the  weight  of  a  great  sorrow  was  on 
the  spirits  of  the  disciples.  None  of  that  company 
was  ignorant  now  of  the  trial  which  was  just  at 
hand.  The  supreme  suffering  of  the  Saviour  was 
at  the  moment  impending.  Singing  kindles. 
Music  is  at  once  the  expression  and  the  awaken- 
ing of  emotion. 

The  Scriptures  furnish  us  with  another  vivid 
illustration  of  the  same  thought,  some  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  which  are  almost  parallel.  You 
remember  that  David,  king  at  once  and  father  of 
the  rebel  Absalom,  who  with  armed  bands  forced 
him  to  flee  from  his  throne  in  this  very  city  of  Je- 
rusalem, went  out  into  the  Mount  of  Olives  as  he 
retreated.  Possibly  he  passed  through  this  same 
gate,  over  this  slender  rill  Kidron,  into  the  same 
deep  shadows  which  lay  in  weird  forms  along  the 
terraces  and  up  the  slopes  of  the  hill.  Jesus,  the 
second  David,  sang  his  hymn  before  he  went  out  ; 
but  David,  his  ancestor,  composed  the  one  he  sang 
on  the  spot.     It  will  be  worth  while  to  read  over 


2/6  SERMONS   IN  SONGS. 

The  fifty-fifth  Psalm.  The  Jesuits'  dread  of  hymns. 

the  fifty-fifth  psalm  sometime,  and  remember  that 
it  was  made  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Olivet  as 
the  royal  poet  sat  there  waiting  in  the  midnight- 
It  gives  significance  to  the  words  to  know  that 
both  of  these  sufferers  found  their  solace  in 
song  after  betrayal.  For  we  instinctively  lay 
one  strain  beside  the  other,  and  then  we  find  they 
both  had  a  single  purpose  and  meaning.  For  the 
sovereign  said,  "  Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord, 
and  he  will  sustain  thee  ;"  and' the  Saviour  said, 
"Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done."  To  this 
height  of  submission  each  in  turn  seems  to  have 
come  through  the  very  singing  of  his  own  song 
of  trust. 

And  so  we  easily  learn  our  lesson.  I  am  sorry 
for  those  Christians  who  do  not  know  how  much 
comfort  there  is  in  singing  when  the  excited  heart 
stands  under  the  shadow  of  some  great  pain,  just 
coming  or  just  gone.  It  refreshes  the  drooping 
spirits,  and  strengthens  the  wavering  courage. 
In  the  days  of  the  Reformation  the  monks  forbade 
the  people  the  use  of  the  grand  old  German  music. 
"Why,"  exclaimed  one  of  the  shrewdest  of  the 
Jesuits,  "  the  hymns  of  Luther  have  enticed  away 
more  souls  than  all  his  writings  and  sermons  !" 
Especially  did  these  wily  ecclesiastics  reprobate 
that  choral  beginning,  "  My  God,  be  gracious  to  us 
now,"  that  which  Gustavus  Adolphus  sang  with  all 
his  army  on  the  morning  of  the  battle  of  Lutzen. 
So  the  Puritans  used  to  rush  into  conflict  with 
the    psalms  of    the  temple-service    ringing   forth 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  277 


The  song  at  the  guillotine.  The  closed  instrument. 

from  their  lips.  Such  heroes  lit  the  fires  of  their 
military  ardor  with  the  flames  of  the  ancient  in- 
spiration which  flashed  along  the  ages. 

You  have  not  forgotten,  possibly,  while  you 
were  standing  beside  the  Obelisk  in  the  centre  of 
Paris,  the  story  of  some  martyr  women  in  the 
Revolution  who  marched  from  their  prison  to  the 
guillotine  chanting  the  old  hymn,  "  Veni,  Creator." 
The  voices  were  strong  and  full  at  the  start. 
Over  and  over  again  went  the  solemn  music,  as 
they  kept  the  step  through  the  streets  ;  by  and  by 
they  reached  the  open  space  where  the  knife  hung 
in  the  air.  One  after  another  the  rapidly  thinning 
band  ascended  the  scaffold  ;  and  the  undaunted 
choir  held  on  to  the  chosen  strain.  And  the  song 
did  not  cease  until  only  a  single  singer  remained  ; 
and  even  then  that  one  clear  voice  pealed  forth  its 
notes  till  it  was  silenced  by  the  dropping  over 
it  of  the  eternal  shadow. 

Sing  on,  then,  ye  who  are  sad,  or  apprehensive, 
or  bereaved  !  It  is  not  wise  to  refuse  help  so 
graciously  vouchsafed  to  melancholy  mortals. 
Open  the  closed  instrument  as  usual  ;  even  funeral 
associations  you  can  afford  to  break  up  gently  ; 
let  the  sense  of  loss  be  healed  with  dear  old 
home  songs  taken  up  again  into  life.  They  will 
often  refine  the  heart,  mitigate  the  sorrow,  keep 
alive  the  affections,  awake  the  soul  to  duty,  set  it 
looking  forward,  and  become  the  foretaste  of  that 
hour  in  which  all  will  be  surely  restored. 

3.  Yet  another  question.     We  have  seen  where 


278  SERMONS  IN  SONGS. 

What  did  they  sing  ?  The  Great  Hallel. 

Christ  and  his  disciples  sang,  and  wh}'  the}'  sang  : 
let  us  try  to  find  out  zvJiat  they  sang. 

I  wish  I  could  prove  what  I  imagine,  when  I 
seem  to  look  in  upon  the  gathering  in  the  upper 
room.  This  was  the  last  time  that  Christians  ever 
celebrated  the  Passover,  and  the  first  time  they 
ever  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper.  That  closing 
hymn  marked  the  transition  forever  from  one  dis- 
pensation over  into  another.  The  law  now  gave 
place  to  the  gospel.  All  the  institutions  of  the 
Jewish  ritual  were  henceforth  to  be  supplanted  by 
the  simpler  forms  of  obedience  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment church.  The  Hebrew  Moses  now  yielded 
to  the  Messiah  who  had  actually  come.  Right 
here,  on  the  dividing  line,  the  two  economies  seem 
to  have  met  and  recognized  each  other  as  being 
one  and  the  same  in  substance  and  in  spirit.  And 
I  can  almost  be  willing  to  persuade  myself  that  the 
song  the  disciples  sang  might,  not  unfittingly,  bear 
the  name  which  one  of  their  number  afterward 
gave  to  that  which  he  heard  when  he  saw  in  a 
sublime  vision  at  Patmos  the  real  feast  that  this 
only  typed  ;  for,  in  one  grand  sense,  it  was  "  the 
Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb." 

It  is  likely  that  we  all  know  now  that  the  Jews 
were  wont  at  the  Passover  to  chant  what  they 
called  the  "  Great  Hallel,"  a  long  canticle  made 
up  of  those  psalms  which  in  our  Scriptures  are 
numbered  from  the  one  hundred  and  thirteenth  to 
the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth.  There  is  no 
doubt,  I  suppose,  concerning  the   statement  that 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  279 

Some  original  songs.  Communion  a  fresh  institution. 

the  first  communion  song- was  that,  or  part  of  that. 
Surely,  if  you  will  read  it  over,  you  will  find  it 
exceedingly  appropriate  under  the  circumstances. 
But  it  does  not  follow  that  they  had  nothing  else 
on  this  occasion.  It  is  not  an  inconceivable  thing, 
if  any  one  prefers  to  hazard  the  conjecture,  that  a 
hymn  was  composed  for  their  use  at  this  earliest 
communion. 

Hannah  made  one,  you  remember,  when  Samuel 
was  born.  Mary  broke  forth  into  the  Magnificat 
after  her  greeting  from  her  kinswoman  Elisabeth. 
Zacharias  sang  a  new  song  at  the  naming  of  the 
infant  John  the  moment  his  dumbness  was  re- 
moved. Simeon  gave  us  an  exquisite  strain  in 
commemoration  of  his  sight  of  Jesus  in  the  temple. 
And,  not  long  subsequent  to  this  day,  some  one 
of  these  very  disciples  composed  an  actual  poem, 
and  they  all  sang  it  together  as  they  came  out  of 
prison.  These  believers,  imder  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New,  did  not  seem  to  think  that  they 
were  shut  up  to  the  psalms  of  David.  Finding 
nothing  just  fitting  to  their  case,  they  had  no 
scruples  whatsoever  in  seeking  elsewhere,  or  in 
fashioning  a  lyric  of  praise  for  themselves. 

Let  us  be  frank  in  admitting  that  there  are 
moods  of  evangelical  feeling  for  which  no  precise 
psalm  can  be  found  in  the  Psalter  as  we  now  have 
it.  Communion  service  is  a  fresh  institution  in 
the  church.  We  see  here  that  our  Lord  himself 
accepted  the  fact  of  singing  ;  it  may  be,  if  any  one 
really  wishes  to  think  so,  that  there  was  a   new 


28o  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Hymns  outside  of  the  Bible.  Who  was  it  that  sang  then? 

hymn  sung  just  before  the  company  started  for  the 
Mount  of  OHves,  although  none  of  us  can  pretend 
there  is  found  any  record  of  it.  At  all  events, 
believers  would  be  deprived  of  some  of  the  most 
efficient  means  of  Christian  edification,  if  they 
should  refuse  to  sing  anything  outside  of  the  Bible. 
The  sacramental  lyrics  of  the  church  at  large  are 
in  all  tongues  the  very  wealth  of  gospel  teaching 
and  comfort.  It  does  seem  as  if  Christians  would 
be  quite  safe  in  obeying  what  an  inspired  apostle 
took  such  pains  to  say  in  two  instances  : 

"  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly 
in  all  wisdom  ;  teaching  and  admonishing  one 
another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 
singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord." 
"  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in 
your  heart  to  the  Lord." 

4.  Once  more  :  it  will  serve  our  present  pur- 
pose if  we  ask  alsort'/^*?  it  zt>as  tJiat  sa?ig  the  hymn  at 
this   first  communion   service. 

The  record  says  simply  "  they."  It  is  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  entire  company  joined  in  it. 
Can  we  imagine  that  a  select  body  of  choristers  did 
the  singing  for  all  the  rest  ?  It  seems  more  befit- 
ting to  insist  that  each  person  did  what  he  could  to 
help  the  song  along  in  such  an  instance  as  this. 
There  was  John,  you  remember,  so  gentle  and  af- 
fectionate that  some  called  him  "  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,"  and  yet  so  manly  withal  that  Christ 
called  him  a  "  son  of  thunder."     James  was  there 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  28 1 

Only  the  eleven  sang.  Did  Jesus  sing  ? 


too  ;  we  conceive  of  him  as  a  somewhat  solemn 
and  venerable  man  ;  it  hardly  strikes  us  that  one 
so  benignant  and  sober,  so  practical  and  unen- 
thusiastic,  could  have  been  much  of  a  musician. 
Simon  Peter  was  there  also,  and  no  doubt  fore- 
most, as  usual,  in  everything,  moving  on  with  the 
impulses  of  a  great,  brave  heart.  There  must  have 
been  a  good  deal  of  energy  in  his  style,  and  some- 
what of  explosiveness,  if  the  tune  was  a  strong 
one.     It  is  likely  the  eleven  all  sang  then. 

The  eleven — Judas  was  gone.  You  can  never 
help  being  glad  that  the  traitor  was  dismissed  be- 
fore the  sacrament.  It  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  think 
he  did  not  sing  the  hymn  ;  he  was  off  on  his  way 
now  to  meet  the  chief  priests  at  the  rendezvous. 
He  had  "  no  music  in  himself  ;"  he  was  engaged 
in  what  he  was  fit  for,  "  treasons,  stratagems  and 
spoils."  There  was  another  Judas  present  ;  how 
pathetic  is  the  description  given  of  him  long  after- 
ward in  the  discrimination,  "  not  Iscariot." 

But  did  Jesus  sing  ?  Doubtless  he  did  ;  why 
not  ?  It  really  seems  a  precious  thought  that 
those  disciples  heard  his  voice.  We  have  never 
been  told  that  our  divine  Lord  loved  music  ;  but 
he  loved  everything  always  that  was  beautiful 
and  true — lilies,  and  streams,  and  faithful  men 
and  little  children.  The  Jews  said  of  him  once  : 
"  never  man  spake  like  this  man  ;"  we  think  we 
might  add  to  that,  never  man  sang  like  this 
Saviour.  Christ  surely  knew  all  the  words  which 
had  been  put  as  a  prediction  in  the  mouth  of  the 


282  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  Jesus  wept,  but  never  smiled."  The  songs  of  dying  believers. 

Messiah,  for  he  was  the  Messiah  himself.  He 
could  sing,  as  once  he  talked  with  Moses  and 
Elijah  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  "  of  the 
decease  he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem." 

There  are  some  who  love  to  repeat  the  saying 
that,  although  we  read  of  Jesus  as  being  often  in 
tears,  we  never  find  the  record  asserting  that  he 
laughed  or  smiled.  I  think  religious  people  can 
afford  to  admit  this  statement  as  a  fact,  while  we 
brace  ourselves  with  rigid  stubbornness  and  re- 
pellency  against  the  coarse  inference  which  is  sly- 
ly insinuated  as  following  from  it,  namely,  that 
Christian  sedateness  requires  nothing  of  emotion 
but  its  sadness,  and  tolerates  nothing  of  sensi- 
bility except  its  solicitude.  It  better  meets  my 
form  of  spiritual  experience  to  believe,  as  I  do 
most  sincerely,  that  our  Lord  was  human  and  sym- 
pathetic in  everything  which  belongs  to  any  one 
else  as  a  man.  I  like  to  think  of  him  as  gentle  and 
cheerful  and  happy.  It  gives  me  gladness  to  feel 
that  he  sometimes  was  glad.  I  am  not  ready  to 
say  that  this  communion  hymn  was  doleful  and 
heavy  ;  I  would  rather  believe  that  he  sang  that 
night  strain  of  rejoicing  in  jubilant  anticipation 
of  his  work  accomplished  and  a  speedy  entrance 
into  glory. 

We  have  been  told,  and  we  believe,  that  dying 
persons  sometimes  sing  with  a  generous  freeness 
of  exquisite  emotion,  just  because  nature  is  yield- 
ing, the  world  is  in  full  retreat,  and  grace  sweeps 
into  sway.      And   I  find    myself   thinking    often 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  283 

Who  listened  to  this  hymn  ?  Impressions  for  good, 

that,  while  there  was  no  weakness  of  dissolution 
in  our  Saviour's  experience,  there  must  have  been 
a  matchless  sweetness  and  exhilaration  in  the  final 
song  that  he  sang,  for  a  festival  so  significant 
rehearsed  his  whole  purpose  and  triumph. 

5.  Yet  another  question  :  ivJio  listened  zvJicn  this 
hymn  was  sung  ?  The  disciples  heard  each  other  ; 
was  any  one  else  present  with  them  ? 

In  the  story  as  it  runs  on  there  is  no  hint  of  an 
audience  ;  but  it  seems  quite  likely,  when  we  look 
in  upon  the  picture,  that  the  man  in  whose  guest- 
chamber  the  Passover  feast  was  prepared  might 
have  entered  the  assembly  for  awhile.  He  had 
seen  too  much  of  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  already  to 
suppose  he  was  a  mere  common  personage.  And 
that  man-servant  likewise  whom  the  disciples  met, 
bearing  his  pitcher  of  water  in  from  the  fountain, 
must  have  been  struck  with  the  authoritative  way 
in  which  they  asked  for  an  apartment.  Perhaps 
he  was  there,  and  some  of  his  fellow-servants  may 
have  been  with  him.  When  the  company  began 
to  sing  the  music  must  have  sounded  through  the 
rooms  around  them.  The  Jews  were  not  very 
quiet  when  they  shouted  forth  their  grand  old 
Passover  anthems.  Paul  and  Silas,  you  remem- 
ber, once  sang  so  loud  in  the  jail  at  Philippi  that 
all  the  prisoners  heard  them. 

Suppose  this  communion  hymn  was  heard 
within  and  without  the  apartment,  would  it  not  be 
very  impressive  for  good  ?  It  is  true  that  we 
never    hear  of  any  of  these  persons  again  ;  but 


284  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Power  of  communion  Iiymns.  Will  that  hymn  be  sung  again  ? 

may  we  not  hope  that  at  least  a  few  of  them  be- 
came the  friends  of  the  Redeemer  ?  There  is  a 
great  power  in  a  true  hymn,  and  people  say  that 
Christians  never  sing  so  well  as  when  they  are 
sitting  at  the  Lord's  Table  ;  then  it  is  that  they 
think  of  the  past  mercy,  they  realize  the  present 
grace,  they  anticipate  the  future  glory.  Each 
communicant  seems  ready  to  repeat  the  old  words 
of  the  psalmist  :  "  I  waited  patiently  for  the 
Lord  ;  and  he  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my 
cry.  He  brought  me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible 
pit,  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a 
rock,  and  established  my  goings.  And  he  hath 
put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
God  :  many  shall  see  it,  and  fear,  and  shall  trust 
in  the  Lord." 

6.  And  now  we  reach  the  last  question  we  need 
to  ask  :  ^vill  that  hymn  zvhich  jfcsiis  and  his  disciples 
sang  ever  be  sung  again  ? 

This  inquiry  is  interesting  to  us  because  of  cer- 
tain peculiarities  of  experience  of  Christians  at  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Communion  hymns  are  wonder- 
fully suggestive  of  the  memory  of  those  who  used 
to  love  and  sing  them.  And  what  we  would  like 
to  know  is  whether  the  voices,  which  keep  drop- 
ping away  at  each  celebration  while  the  years 
drift  along,  are  by  and  by  going  to  renew  the 
strain.  Shall  the  poet  really  find  again  her  "  lost 
chord"  in  heaven?  Yes:  all  this,  yes.  "The 
children  of  God,"  said  a  pious  man  to  his  friend 
at  parting,  "  never  meet  for  exactly  the  last  time." 


THE   EUCHARIST   HYMN.  285 

Such  songs  foretastes  of  heaven.  Not  the  "  Creation,"  but  the  "  Messiah." 

Christ  told  his  disciples  that  he  should  no  more 
drink  of  the  wine  they  used  that  day  till  he 
should  drink  it  new  with  them  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  And  he  might  have  added  that  he  should 
never  sing  another  hymn  with  them  till  he 
should  have  returned  to  his  place  in  his  Father's 
throne.  But  this  would  assume  that  he  certainly 
expected  to  meet  them  again,  and  keep  his  prom- 
ises which  he  had  made  to  them. 

To  me  communion  songs  seem  the  surest  thing 
we  shall  have  in  the  fruitions  of  heaven.  There 
will  be  no  preaching  there  ;  prayer  will  be  no 
longer  needed  ;  reading  the  Scriptures  will  have 
reached  its  end.  Only  praise,  and  that  will  be 
done  by  singing,  will  be  perpetual.  Still,  com- 
munion songs  can  be  sung  only  by  redeemed  men 
and  women  and  children.  Angels  can  sing  the 
"  Creation,"  but  saints  alone  can  sing  the  "  Mes- 
siah." Even  the  seraphim  never  knew  the  joys  of 
redemption  ;  Christians  are  to  have  their  chance 
to  render  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  while 
every  voice  beside  theirs  will  be  silent,  and  the 
universe  will  listen. 

Try  to  picture  that  scene  now  for  a  moment. 
Room  will  be  made  in  the  highest  courts  of  God's 
celestial  temple  for  a  new  choir  coming,  for  a  fresh 
anthem  to  be  heard.  Clear,  loud  and  strong, 
like  the  supreme  voice  of  many  waters,  will  those 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  singers  pour 
forth  the  strains  of  wondrous  harmony  as  they 
make  the  heavens  ring  with  the  communion  hymn 


286  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Christ's  coronation  song.  Jeremy  Taylor's  prayer. 

which  will  then  be  recognized  as  the  coronation 
song  for  their  King,  now  wearing  his  many 
crowns. 

So,  when  we  sing  our  closing  piece  to-day,  let 
us  try  to  feel  how  glad  we  shall  be  when  we  sing 
it  on  the  golden  floor  !  Dear  voices,  evermore 
silent  here  on  the  earth,  will  be  ready  to  join  in  it 
again  there  :  the  same,  perhaps,  which  sang 
Bethlehem  songs  by  your  cradle,  are  going  to  sing 
the  Calvary  song  by  your  throne  ;  for  we  ail  shall 
be  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  and  shall  reign  for- 
ever and  ever. 

'*  O  God,  whose  days  are  without  end,  and 
whose  mercies  cannot  be  numbered  ;  make  us,  we 
beseech  thee,  deeply  sensible  of  the  shortness  and 
uncertainty  of  human  life  ;  and  let  thy  Holy  Spirit 
lead  us  through  this  vale  of  misery,  in  holiness 
and  righteousness,  all  the  days  of  our  lives  :  that, 
when  we  shall  have  served  thee  in  our  generation, 
we  may  be  gathered  unto  our  fathers,  having  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience  ;  in  the  commun- 
ion of  the  invisible  Church  ;  in  the  confidence  of 
a  certain  faith  ;  in  the  comfort  of  a  reasonable,  re- 
ligious, and  holy  hope  ;  in  favor  with  thee,  our 
God,  and  in  perfect  charity  with  the  world.  All 
which  we  ask  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen." 


XXV. 
GOD'S   THOUGHTS   OF   US. 

"  But  I  AM  POOR  and  needy  ;  yet  the  Lord  thinketh  iiroN 

ME  :    thou  art  my  help  and  my  deliverer  ;    MAKE  NO  TARRYING, 

O  MY  God." — Psalm  40  :  17. 

When  we  study  the  fortieth  psalm  we  are  to 
remember  that  it  has  no  special  incident  upon 
which  it  is  founded.  It  records  the  permanent  ex- 
periences of  its  inspired  author  ;  it  is  applicable 
to  the  whole  stormy  period  of  his  career.  And, 
beyond  all  this,  we  are  to  recollect  that  it  does  not 
record  David's  experiences  alone  ;  it  is  a  song  for 
the  ages  ;  it  is  plainly  evangelical  and  Messianic, 
and  is  quoted  concerning  Christ  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  Hence,  we  may  expect  to  find 
grace  and  help  from  it  as  it  proffers  the  love  of 
God  to  all  his  children.  The  great  force  of  it, 
as  is  the  case  in  many  of  the  most  spiritual  psalms, 
is  crowded  into  the  closing  verse.  This  will  sup- 
ply us  now  with  a  very  welcome  analysis.  First, 
there  is  a  pathetic  description  of  human  expe- 
rience ;  then,  there  is  a  comforting  disclosure 
of  divine  providence  ;  then,  there  is  a  legitimate 
ground  for  full  assurance  of  aid  ;  then,  there  is 
an  affectionate  prayer  for  the  faith  of  appropria- 
tion in  ourselves. 

I.   "  But  I  am  poor  and   needy  :"    this  is  the 


288  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Ignorance,  impotence,  guilt.  The  common  element. 

description  given  us  of  our  human  nature  under 
its  ordinary  conditions  of  life. 

1.  Some  are  poor  and  needy  through  ignorance. 
We  cannot  understand  ourselves  :  we  often  pray 
for  what  would  be  our  ruin  if  God  granted  it  just 
as  we  asked  for  it  ;  we  cannot  understand  others  : 
we  toil  to  make  our  minds  acquainted  with  those 
nearest  to  us,  and  still  they  manage  to  elude  our 
penetration  ;  we  never  can  understand  God  :  his 
providences  are  an  unceasing  mystery. 

2.  Some  are  poor  and  needy  through  impotence. 
That  is  to  say,  we  are  surrounded  by  difficulties, 
and  find  we  are  not  masters  of  the  position  ;  our 
perplexing  cares  master  us.  The  ordinary  mat- 
ters of  commonplace  support  are  out  of  our  con- 
trol ;  our  children  try  our  patience  beyond  our 
strength  ;  the  most  willing  and  industrious  man 
cannot  always  find  remunerative  work  to  do. 

3.  Some  are  poor  and  needy  through  guilt. 
Conscience  has  been  on  the  alert,  and  has  dis- 
co v-ered  sin  crouching  at  the  door.  Human  sin- 
fulness is  like  a  check  on  the  bank  ;  it  may  go  far 
and  remain  in  circulation  long  ;  but  it  will  come 
back  eventually  to  the  man  who  is  responsible  for 
it,  and  will  be  presented  for  immediate  payment. 
And  then,  when  the  guilty  soul  sits  thinking 
away  from  help  and  confidence,  and  knows  not 
what  to  do,  it  will  be  willing  to  say  at  the  least, 
"  I  am  poor  and  needy,"  under  an  uneasy  fear, 
and  a  solemn  sense  of  condemnation  before  God. 

Now    the    one    common    element   in   all  these 


god's  thoughts  of  us. 

289 

Loneliness  of  the  soul. 

Albert  of  Polanda. 

troubles  is  found  in  the  loneliness  into  which  the 
soul  settles  under  them.  When  such  feeling  of 
desolation  comes  over  us  it  really  seems  as  if 
the  whole  universe  had  given  us  the  go-by.  We 
are  certain  that  we  must  have  help  from  outside 
somewhere,  or  we  shall  perish  in  our  hunger  and 
weakness.  Human  instincts,  in  such  a  case,  look 
upward  for  aid.  Our  souls  can  neither  fly  nor 
go.  Duke  Albert  of  Polanda,  so  runs  the  old 
story,  bore  on  his  armor  the  emblem  of  entire 
trust  :  just  the  hull  of  a  ship,  having  only  the 
mainmast  and  its  top-piece,  without  any  tackling 
or  canvas  whatever.  But  there  was  this  motto 
underneath  :  Dcus  dabit  vela:  "  God  will  furnish 
the  sails."  Thus  he  claimed  that  heavenly  forces 
would  be  supplied  with  divine  instrumentality 
when  need  should  arrive. 

II.  "I  am  poor  and  needy  ;  yet  the  Lord 
thinketh  upon  me  :"  here,  in  the  second  place,  is 
the  comforting  assurance  of  divine  aid.  On  the 
heavy  background  of  this  universal  need  shines 
out  the  full  revelation  of  God's  forethought  and 
carefulness. 

I.  God  tJiinks  about  tis.  "We  are  not  at  all  for- 
gotten then.  "  Many,  O  Lord  my  God,  arc  thy 
wonderful  works  which  thou  hast  done,  and  thy 
thoughts  which  are  to  us-ward  :  they  cannot  be 
reckoned  up  in  order  unto  thee  :  if  I  would  de- 
clare and  speak  of  them,  they  are  more  than  can 
be  numbered."  It  would  seem  as  if  we  ought  to 
have  remembered  this.     The  high  and  holy  One 


290  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

God  thinks  about  us.  "  Pain  du  bon  Dieu." 

of  Israel  never  sleeps  nor  slumbers.  The  Lord 
has  always  been  mindful  of  his  own.  He  created 
us  ;  he  has  fed,  sustained,  clothed  us. 

Simpler  minds  than  ours  are  often  more  truly 
devotional  :  the  Savoyards  have  the  beautiful 
name  for  one  of  their  finest  mountain-flowers, 
''Pain  du  boii  Dicii :"  "the  bread  of  the  good 
God  ;"  for  they  say  it  reminds  them  by  its  white 
and  delicate  blossoms  of  the  manna  feeding  Israel 
in  the  wilderness. 

2.  God  thhiks  a  great  deal  about  us.  His  thoughts 
are  so  many  that  "  they  cannot  be  reckoned  up  in 
order."  He  thought  of  the  poor  widow  in 
Elisha's  time  when  she  had  nothing  in  the  famine- 
struck  house  but  her  little  cruse  of  oil.  He 
thought  of  Simon  Peter  in  the  prison,  of  Daniel 
in  the  lions'  den,  of  the  infant  Moses  in  the  bul- 
rush ark,  as  well  as  of  David  in  the  great  stress  of 
his  trouble,  whatever  it  was,  Avhen  he  wrote  this 
psalm  :  "  I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord  ;  and 
he  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry.  He 
brought  me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible  pit,  out  of 
the  miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and 
established  my  goings.  And  he  hath  put  a  new 
song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God  : 
many  shall  see  it,  and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the 
Lord.  Blessed  is  that  man  that  maketh  the  Lord 
his  trust,  and  rcspccteth  not  the  proud,  nor  such 
as  turn  aside  to  lies." 

There  are  two  verses  in  another  psalm  which 
tell  us  this  acrain  : 


god's  thoughts  of  us.  291 

"  Sums"  in  the  plural.  Promises  are  thoughts  stored  up. 

"  How  precious  also  are  thy  thoughts  unto  me, 
O  God  !  how  great  is  the  sum  of  them  !  If  I 
should  count  them,  they  are  more  in  number  than 
the  sand  :  when  I  awake,  I  am  still  with  thee." 
This  acknowledgment  is  unusually  strong.  For 
the  word  "  sum"  is  in  the  plural  in  the  Hebrew  ; 
"  how  great  are  the  sums  of  them." 

3.  God  thinks  about  us  ahvays  very  kindly.  David 
gives  a  significant  name  to  the  thoughts  he  is  re- 
ceiving ;  he  calls  them  "  tender  mercies,"  given  by 
God's  "  lovingkindness"  and  "  truth  :"  "  With- 
hold not  thou  thy  tender  mercies  from  me,  O  Lord  : 
let  thy  lovingkindness  and  thy  truth  continually 
preserve  me.  For  innumerable  evils  have  com- 
passed me  about  :  mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold 
upon  me,  so  that  I  am  not  able  to  look  up  ; 
they  are  more  than  the  hairs  of  mine  head  :  there- 
fore my  heart  faileth  me." 

God's  thoughts  are  not  at  all  as  our  thoughts, 
any  more  than  his  ways  are  as  our  ways  ;  "  for 
as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,"  so  are 
his  ways  higher  than  our  ways,  and  his  thoughts 
than  our  thoughts.  Promises  are  just  God's 
thoughts  stored  up  for  men. 

"  One  blessed  word  of  holy  meaning  cometh  to  me  o'er  and  o'er, 
And  the  echoes  of  its  music  linger  ever — evermore  : 
Trust— no  other  word  we  utter  can  so  sweet  and  precious  be, 
Tuning  all  life's  discords  into  heavenly  harmony." 

HI,  "  I  am  poor  and  needy  ;  yet  the  Lord 
thinketh   upon    me  :    thou   art   my  help  and  my 


292  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Assurance  of  aid.  God  not  so  far  away. 

deliverer  :"  here,  in  the  third  place,  is  a  legiti- 
mate ground  for  full  assurance  of  aid. 

David  turns  suddenly  from  addressing  believers 
to  a  direct  address  unto  God  in  person  ;  he  takes 
occasion  to  speak  confidentially  and  confidently 
to  his  heavenly  Friend.  We  cannot  help  thinking 
that  he  had  in  mind  some  in  this  world  who  habit- 
ually make  vast  mistakes  in  reasoning,  Avhose  want 
of  logic  shows  the  heart's  perversity. 

I.  Some  say  that  God  is  too  far  away  to  think  of 
us  here.  Once,  when  a  sailor  had  come  in,  saved 
from  shipwreck,  he  said  to  those  who  asked  him 
about  his  days  and  nights  out  on  the  waters  of  the 
lonely  sea  that  their  greatest  alarm  was  that 
God  could  not  be  made  to  hear  up  so  high  in  the 
sky,  beyond  even  the  stars.  Now,  it  is  of  no  use  to 
reason  about  this.  We  must  just  let  the  Lord  tell 
us  the  truth  in  the  matter  ;  he  knows,  and  he 
declares  : 

"  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon 
him,  to  all  that  call  upon  him  in  truth.  Surely 
liis  salvation  is  nigh  them  that  fear  him  ;  that  glory 
may  dwell  in  our  land.  This  poor  man  cried, 
and  the  Lord  heard  him,  and  saved  him  out  of  all 
his  troubles.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth 
round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and  delivereth 
them." 

One  of  the  boldest  and  strongest  figures  of 
speech  in  the  Bible  has  been  given  us  to  show  how 
close  God's  children  are  to  him  :  "  The  Lord  is 
nigh    unto    them  that    are  of  a    broken    heart  ; 


god's  thoughts  of  us.  293 

Is  God  too  great  ?  Is  God  too  holy  ? 

and  saveth  such  as  be  of  a  contrite  spirit.  He  that 
dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  shall 
abide  linder  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty." 

2.  Then,  again,  some  say  that  God  is  too  great  to 
think  of  us  here  on  his  footstool.  We  conceive 
of  him  as  the  Monarch  on  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse. Needy  petitioners  like  us  must  not  expect 
to  have  an  audience  with  him.  We  are  abashed 
at  the  suggestion  of  intruding  our  petty  cares 
upon  his  notice.  It  might  do  perhaps  in  the  case 
of  a  kingdom  going  to  pieces,  or  a  ship  driving 
on  the  rocks,  or  a  dynasty  breaking  ;  but  not  in 
our  vexations,  not  in  our  daily  disquiets. 

Here,  as  before,  our  logic  is  utterly  at  fault. 
The  argument  goes  exactly  in  the  other  direction. 
God  is  great  ;  indeed,  he  is  so  great  that  he  can 
look  placidly  down  upon  each  one  of  us,  as  we 
keep  coming  to  him,  ever  kindly  bidding  us  a 
morning  and  evening  welcome  ;  no  more  forget- 
ful, no  more  impatient,  no  more  worried,  than  are 
we  when  our  own  boys  approach  us  with  their 
questions  or  their  difficulties.  Now,  when  we 
think  of  it,  it  seems  as  if  we  conceived  of  God  in  a 
most  mean  and  contemptuous  manner,  if  we  begin 
to  assert  that  he  is  hurried  or  fatigued,  displeased 
or  burdened,  by  our  affectionate  inquiries  of  him 
what  we  are  to  do.  God  is  so  great  in  his  pa- 
tience that  it  does  not  fret  him  to  see  his  children. 

3.  So  again  :  some  say  that  God  is  too  holy  to 
think  of  us  here.  We  are  sinners  and  full  of 
defilement ;  it  is  almost  natural  for  us  to  conclude 


294  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

God  never  indifferent.  Is  God  too  happy  ? 

he  could  not  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with  such 
a  class  of  his  creatures.  When  we  think  of  him 
as  residing  in  the  shadowless  purity  of  heaven 
itself  we  are  hardly  willing  to  believe  he  cherishes 
any  thought  for  rebels  like  men. 

But  then  we  certainly  know  that  he  hates  sin  : 
that  is  one  point  gained,  at  all  events  ;  for  if  we 
are  sinners,  God  cannot  possibly  be  indifferent  to 
us.  He  will  strike  at  sin,  for  its  own  offensive 
sake.  He  cannot  bear  to  have  one  speck  of  moral 
defilement  anywhere  within  the  borders  of  his 
realm.  So  he  is  gently  and  tenderly  on  the  side 
of  every  man  who  wishes  to  be  pure.  A  mere 
look  upward  to  him  attracts  attention  ;  and  when 
one  speaks,  saying,  "  See,  here  is  a  sinner 
struggling  with  sin,"  that  will  not  fail  to  be  the 
surest  way  of  securing  instantaneous  succor. 

4.  Once  more  :  some  say  that  God  is  too  Jiappy 
to  think  of  us  here.  He  does  not  need  us.  Why 
should  he  bestir  himself  or  disturb  himself  in 
any  way  in  our  behalf?  And  least  of  all,  if  our 
excellences  are  of  no  account,  how  can  our 
troubles  hope  to  interest  him  ? 

Such  questions  show  how  poorly  we  reason.  It 
is  true  that  God  is  happy  ;  but  something  makes 
him  happy  ;  he  is  infinitely  and  constantly 
happy,  but  not  unintelligently  happy  in  any  case. 
His  enjoyment  has  grounds  for  its  exercise  ;  it 
has  a  society  of  companions  to  share  it  and  con- 
tribute to  it.  And  because  he  desires  it  to  con- 
tinue   and    to   increase  he  is    alwavs  among    the 


god's  thoughts  of  us.  295 

God  joys  "with  singing."  Daily  harassments. 

worlds  beneficent  and  active,  making-  himself 
happy,  everywhere  sowing  sunlight  that  he  may 
harvest  gladness  from  each  field  of  the  wide  uni- 
verse. VVe  are  told  by  one  of  the  prophets,  "  The 
Lord  thy  God  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  mighty  ;  he 
will  save,  he  will  rejoice  over  thee  with  joy  ; 
he  will  rest  in  his  love  ;  he  will  joy  over  thee 
with  singing."  ' 

IV.  "  I  am  poor  and  needy  ;  yet  the  Lord 
thinketh  upon  me  :  thou  art  my  help  and  my 
deliverer  ;  make  no  tarrying,  O  my  God."  Here, 
in  the  fourth  place,  is  the  prayer  for  the  faith  of 
appropriation  in  ourselves.  If  God  really  wishes 
to  help  us,  and  we  wish  to  be  helped,  why  should 
there  be  any  delay  on  either  side  ? 

I.  Why  should  we  not  now,  at  once,  trust  God  to 
take  away  all  our  daily  Jiarassnients  ?  He  has  said 
that  we  are  to  have  "  no  thought  for  the  morrow," 
because  he  has  all  the  "  thoughts"  that  belong  to  it 
in  our  behalf.  One  day,  when  the  young  lad 
Goethe  came  from  church,  where  he  had  listened 
to  a  sermon  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to 
justify  the  divine  goodness,  his  father  asked  him 
what  he  thought  of  the  explanation.  "  Why,"  said 
this  extraordinary  youth,  "the  matter  may  be  much 
simpler  than  the  minister  thinks  ;  God  knows  very 
well  that  an  immortal  soul  can  never  receive  any 
injury  from  a  mortal  accident."  Why  do  we  not 
open  our  hearts  to  such  a  conviction  ?  These  frets 
will  not  harm  us  ;  our  Father  in  heaven  will  see 
us  through  them    into   peace   in  his  time.       We 


296  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Unnecessary  apprehensions.  Spiritual  conflicts. 

have  only   to  pray,    "  Make   no  tarrying,    O  my 
God." 

2.  Then  again  :  why  do  we  not  trust  our 
heavenly  Friend  to  banish  all  our  tinnccessary  appre- 
Jiensions  at  once  ?  What  has  rendered  the  world 
more  unhappy  than  anything  else  has  always  been 
some  great  worry  anticipated  which  never  hap- 
pened after  all.  A  misgiving  that  we  shall  not  be 
able  to  hold  our  own  under  these  pressures  only 
unfits  us  for  steadiness.  It  is  said  that  Shake- 
speare once  thought  himself  no  poet,  and  Raphael's 
heart  grew  silent  and  discouraged,  so  that  he  was 
overheard  to  say  he  should  never  be  a  suc- 
cessful painter.  He  who  has  an  all-powerful 
helper  above  needs  only  to  look  to  him  for  the 
help  he  has  engaged.  We  have  only  to  keep 
praying,  "  Make  no  tarrying,  O  my  God." 

"  Who    would   be    God's    must   trust,  not  see,  not    murmur,  fear, 
demand  ; 
Must  wholly  by  him  guided  be,  lost  in  that  loving  hand  ; 
Must  turn  where'er  he  leads,  nor  say — 
'  Whither,  oh,  whither  points  the  way  ?  '  " 

3.  Once  more  :  why  do  w^e  not  trust  God  to 
hush  all  our  spiritual  conflicts  ?  Without  are  fight- 
ings, and  within  are  fears  ;  but  these  might  be 
composed  in  an  instant  if  we  would  only  cast  our 
cares  on  him  who  cares  for  us.  God  seems  some- 
times to  put  before  the  defeated  faith  the  end 
which  it  has  been  listlessly  seeking,  as  a  city  to  be 
besieged,  which  city  has  been  lost  hitherto  through 


GOD  S   THOUGHTS   OF   US.  297 

Send  back  spent  arrows.  One  essential  condition. 

indolence.  And  now  the  prize  seems  unutterably 
valuable,  simply  because  it  has  to  be  reached  by 
a  series  of  regular  approaches.  Prone  on  the 
sward  the  industrious  soul  lies  digging  in  the  low 
trenches  ;  there  even  the  Almighty  God  appears 
to  fire  at  it,  as  Christ  did  at  the  Syrophenician 
woman.  But  now  notice  ;  this  is  his  way  of  sup- 
plying ammunition  to  the  archer.  We  have  only 
to  pick  up  the  spent  arrows  and  send  them  back 
in  our  prayers.  A  thoroughly  alert  Christian  will 
sometimes  discover  that  all  the  fightings  he  really 
has  are  with  himself  ;  he  is  resisting  a  God,  who 
is  on  his  side  all  the  time  trying  to  aid  him.  Let 
him  surrender  to  a  friend,  and  pray,  "  Make  no 
tarrying,  O  my  God  !" 

Only  one  condition  lies  behind  all  this  :  "  tJie 
sign  of  the  cross  is  the  countersign  to  night.''  Do 
you  know  the  story  ?  It  was  in  the  war  twenty 
years  ago.  The  sentry  challenged  one  who  was 
creeping  within  the  lines:  "  Who  goes  there?" 
rang  out  sharp  and  strong  in  the  midnight,  and  a 
feeble  voice  answered  :  "  A  tired  friend."  "  Ad- 
vance, then,  and  give  the  countersign,"  was  next 
heard  in  the  air.  Now  came  the  necessity  of 
closer  explanation.  A  worn-out  man  slowly  drew 
near,  unarmed,  and  almost  staggering  in  unmis- 
takable weakness.  He  said  he  was  a  Union  sol- 
dier, just  escaped  from  prison  ;  he  had  threaded 
the  woods  in  the  night,  and  been  swimming  the 
riv^ers  in  the  day,  until  he  was  well-nigh  in  the 
depths    of   exhaustion.     There    was    no    need    of 


298  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  soldier's  countersign.  Penitence  and  faith  before  pardon. 

doubting  his  pathetic  tale,  but  the  sentinel  could 
only  reply  :  "  The  orders  are  peremptory  to- 
night that  ever}'  man  coming  to  the  line  without 
the  countersign  must  be  shot  in  his  tracks  ;  you 
must  die  within  a  few  minutes  ;  you  know  the 
rules,"  he  added,  sorrowfully  ;  "  men  must  do 
their  duty."  The  man  hesitated  :  "  I  did  not  ex- 
pect this  ;  I  am  not  ready  to  die  ;  I  must  have 
time  to  pray."  And  the  soldier  answered  that  he 
might  have  five  minutes'  respite.  A  Christian 
himself,  he  hoped  much  from  the  delay.  Would 
not  God  interpose,  if  this  was  a  true  man  and 
good  ?  Then  the  fugitive  knelt  on  the  sward,  and 
began  to  talk  quietly  to  his  Father  in  heaven. 
But,  while  he  was  praying,  he  made  tJie  sigji  of  the 
cross  in  the  air,  as  if  strengthening  himself  with 
the  thought  of  a  dying  Saviour.  The  sentry  saw 
it,  and  with  a  cry  of  gladness  clasped  a  brother 
in  his  arms  :  "  You  are  saved,  and  so  am  I,"  he 
exclaimed  ;  "  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  the  counter- 
sign to-night  !" 

Oh,  ye  men  and  brethren  who  hear  me  !  listen 
only  to  this  open  secret  ;  the  condition  of  all  peace 
in  God  is  found  in  atonement  ;  reconciliation  be- 
fore favor  ;  penitent  faith  before  graces  of  protec- 
tion ;  ' '  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  the  countersign 
to-nio-ht  !" 


XXVI. 

OFF   AND    ON. 

"  1  HAVE  PUT  OFF  MY  COAT  ;  HOW  SHALL  I  PUT  IT  ON  ?" — Solo- 
mon S  Song  5:3. 

Not  long  since,  coming"  home  from  a  sea-side 
trip,  during  the  days  of  which  I  had  chanced  upon 
a  camp-meeting,  I  came  in  contact  upon  the  boat 
with  a  somewhat  loud-speaking  and  busy  exhorter. 
He  wanted  to  keep  singing,  and  managed  to  do  so 
most  of  the  way.  His  manner  was  exceedingly 
fresh  and  open  with  every  one  on  deck.  All  of 
us  were  questioned  in  turn  about  our  souls.  At 
last  I  said  to  him  :  "  You  have  had  long  experi- 
ence in  attendance  on  such  meetings  as  these  in 
the  grove?"  He  mentioned  a  number  of  occa- 
sions so  very  high  in  the  reckoning  that  I  assumed 
he  was  habitually  there  in  the  season  ;  so  I  con- 
tinued :  "  You  must  have  been  a  Christian  for  a 
long  time?"  And  he  answered  :  "  Why,  yes — off 
and  on,  now,  about  eleven  years,  I  should  say, 
since  I  was  first  converted  !" 

Such  expressions  are  valuable  for  their  frank- 
ness, to  say  the  least  ;  and  their  oddness  makes 
them  easy  to  remember.  So  I  choose  the  phrase- 
ology for  a  moment  in  order  to  remark  that  there 
is  altogether  too  much  of  this  "  off  and   on"  re- 


300  SERMONS   IN    SONGS. 


"  Off  and  on  for  eleven  years."  The  Bride  in  the  song. 

lig-ion  in  the  churches  at  this  present  day.  And  I 
am  afraid  it  is  not  because  it  happens  so  by  reason 
of  some  extraordinary  ing-athering-  of  hypocrites 
into  the  g"Ospel-net,  but  because  it  is  conceived 
by  many  that  this  is  exactly  the  normal  way  of 
procedure  in  the  divine  Hfe.  The  theory  may  not 
be  strange  to  all  people  that  personal  piety  con- 
sists in  a  series  of  ups  and  downs,  offs  and  ons, 
revivals  and  backslidings,  in  which  every  Chris- 
tian must  be  allowed  to  take  his  turn.  It  is  often 
deemed  quite  unnecessary  that  pastors  should 
grow  anxious  about  their  hearers  ;  for  these  peri- 
odic moods  are  only  like  the  local  phenomena  of 
malaria  in  a  district  where  he  is  more  or  less  a 
stranger.  He  is  considered  to  be  over-much  con- 
cerned when  the  heats  and  chills  come  on  ;  these 
are  the  ordinary  manifestations,  and  do  not  really 
harm  anybody. 

'i.  Let  us  come  now  straight  to  the  phraseology 
of  the  text  I  have  chosen.  Its  figure  is  also  quaint 
and  sharp,  and  can  readily  be  fastened  in  one's 
mind.  And  our  first  question  will  naturally  be 
this  :  What  is  it  to  have  taken  one's  religious 
coat  off  ? 

The  context  shows  that  it  is  the  person  called 
the  Bride  here  in  Solomon's  Song  who  is  repre- 
sented as  speaking.  She  is  awakened  in  the 
night-time  by  the  sound  of  her  lover's  voice  at 
the  doorway.  He  asks  her  to  open  to  him,  that 
he  may  come  in.  But  she  is  plainly  no  more 
than  half-aroused.     She  lingers  listlessly  on    her 


OFF  AND   ON.  30I 


A  stupid  inquiry.  The  practical  exhibition. 

couch,  for  her  garments  have  been  laid  aside  ;  so 
she  stupidly  inquires  of  herself  how  she  can  get 
up,  put  them  on  again,  and  go  to  the  door. 

The  great  advantage  of  having  Christ  at  the 
portal  ready  now  to  enter  is  unappreciated,  be- 
cause the  heart  is  dull,  and  hates  to  take  the 
trouble  of  rising  to  duty.  An  opportunity,  which 
may  never  occur  so  clearly  again,  is  declined  for 
the  sake  of  personal  indulgence  of  ease.  So  the 
upshot  is  that  God  is  daringly  asked  to  wait  upon 
mere  human  convenience  for  his  admission  to 
one's  heart. 

Let  us  bring  the  whole  experience  to  a  plain 
and  practical  exhibition.  It  might  almost  be  said 
that  there  are  few  members  of  the  visible  church 
who  do  not,  at  some  periods  of  their  lives,  find 
themselves  secretly  questioning  the  existence  of 
divine  grace  in  their  souls.  It  is  a  shame  that  any 
of  us  should  even  for  a  moment  fall  into  such  a 
folly  of  confusion  ;  but  the  fact  cannot  be  denied 
that  many  more  persons  than  ever  publicly  con- 
fess it  do  actually  begin  to  doubt  whether  it  was 
a  wise  thing  for  them  to  have  openly  stood  before 
the  community  to  connect  themselves  with  the 
people  of  God  at  the  time  when  they  did  so.  Now 
that  affections  are  dulled,  and  duties  become  irk- 
some, it  is  one  of  our  unhealthy  impulses  to  seek 
to  break  out  from  under  the  orderly  restrictions 
of  our  church  membership.  And  very  likely 
there  might  be  discovered  a  somewhat  astonish- 
ing, and  even  formidable   number  in  every  com- 


302  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Throwing  up  one's  profession.  Does  this  prove  unregeneration  ? 

munion,  who,  if  they  only  had  their  way,  would 
abruptly  and  joyously  dissolve  this  relationship, 
and  throw  up  their  entire  profession  for  good. 

If  they  had  their  way — thus  1  choose  my  words 
carefully  ;  for  they  certainly  perceive  that  they 
cannot  have  their  own  way  in  covenant  engage- 
ments where  there  are  two  parties  engaged.  As 
affairs  now  stand,  there  is  a  positive  church  law 
in  the  path  :  in  every  denomination  of  Christians 
public  membership  is  thoroughly  respected  and 
heavily  sanctioned  :  in  most  cases  our  theory  ad- 
mits of  no  withdrawal  without  a  process  of  actual 
disciphne.  One  cannot  get  his  name  off  the  roll 
except  by  trial  for  crime  and  consequent  excom- 
munication. Thus  held  by  unwilling  bonds,  it  be- 
comes a  serious  question — What  is  a  person  to  do 
in  order  honestly  to  relieve  the  vexatious  embar- 
rassments of  his  position  ?  Shall  he  tear  his  coat 
off? 

Now,  let  me  say  just  at  this  point,  to  avoid  any 
misconception,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  in 
every  case  of  irresolution  like  this,  that  those  who 
are  so  harassed  by  such  agitating  doubts  and  pain- 
ful suspicions  of  themselves  must  have  been  hypo- 
crites during  the  past  history  they  deplore,  or 
that  they  are  h3^pocrites  now  because  they  keep 
their  perplexities  a  secret,  and  remain  tranquil 
where  they  are.  It  is  no  more  a  proof  that  one  is 
unregenerate  because  he  desires  to  be  out  of  the 
church  when  he  is  in  it,  than  it  is  a  proof  that  one 
is   reerenerate   because   he   desires   to   be   in   the 


OFF  AND    ON.  303 


Painful  and  perilous  searchings.  Morbid  conscientiousness. 

church  when  he  is  out  of  it.  Such  painful  and  peril- 
ous searchings  need  sometimes  themselves  to  be 
searched.  They  may  possibly  be  nothing  more 
than  mere  wiles  of  the  devil  aimed  against  God's 
saints. 

For  these  people  may  possibly  be  only  morbidly 
conscientious.  Sometimes  health  fails,  and  one's 
entire  being  is  under  an  unnatural  depression. 
Sometimes  circumstances  of  exterior  domestic  or 
social  life  may  have  combined  to  bewilder  the 
judgment,  or  to  benumb  the  heart.  Sometimes  a 
wrong  counsel  from  the  pulpit  or  an  enthusiastic 
book,  understood  or  misunderstood,  sways  the 
emotion  into  a  sudden  violence,  and  awakes  a  mis- 
giving, which  Satan  perverts  into  conviction  and 
urges  into  an  outbreak.  There  are  histories  in 
every-day  life  of  sons  who  have  been  estranged  from 
their  parents  for  years,  and  have  burst  all  family 
bonds,  and  left  the  home  roof  for  wild  wandering 
over  the  earth,  and  yet  whose  mistake  has  been 
that  of  the  head  and  not  that  of  the  heart.  An 
explanation  of  just  one  misunderstanding,  which 
has  been  carried  painfully  for  half  a  lifetime,  has 
made  all  right  again  ;  and  then  it  has  been  seen 
that  the  affectionate  soul  has  been  loyal  from  the 
start.  And  it  is  not  impossible  that  many  a  true 
Christian  has  been  beguiled  in  just  this  way.  He 
imagines  it  is  his  church-membership  which  is  gall- 
ing him,  when  perhaps  it  is  only  one  of  a  hundred 
matter-of-fact  things,  belonging  to  daily  existence, 
which  has  destroyed  his  comfort. 


304  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Wherein  lies  the  wrong?  Jeremiah's  figure. 

But  though  this  must  be  admitted,  so  as  not  to 
work  any  injustice,  I  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  ac- 
knowledge that  it  Avould  change  elementally  the 
moral  character  of  such  wicked  attempts  to  rid 
one's  self  of  the  covenant  ;  for  the  difficulty  lies 
below  the  surface. 

II.  So,  then,  we  reach  a  second  question,  which 
as  before  I  prefer  to  cast  into  the  phraseology  of 
the  text  :  Wherein  rests  the  wrong  of  taking  one's 
religious  coat  off  and  laying  it  aside? 

Suppose  the  inquiry  assumes  this  shape  :  admit 
that  a  man  thinks  he  made  a  mistake  in  joining  the 
church  at  all  ;  and  that  now,  even  although  he  is 
reckoned  as  a  professor  of  religion  in  good  and 
regular  standing,  he  is  not  a  truly  regenerate  per- 
son :  is  he  under  obligation  to  perform  the  duties 
of  membership  ?  Is  he  bound  to  come  to  the 
ordinances,  just  as  if  all  were  clear  in  his  own 
heart  ?  That  question  is  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
And  I  will  say  for  a  general  answer  that  there 
must  be  always  times  of  indecision  and  self-search- 
ing in  reference  to  any  relationship  which  involves 
the  two  particulars  of  internal  experience  and  ex- 
ternal contract.  Let  us  just  turn  for  a  moment  to 
a  passage  in  the  prophec}'  of  Jeremiah  :  "  My 
covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  an  husband 
unto  them,  saith  the  Lord.  Turn,  O  backsliding 
children,  saith  the  Lord  ;  for  1  am  married  unto 
you." 

The  Word  of  God  here  parallels  one  perplexity 
by   another  ;    and  it   happens   that   this   other  is 


OFF   AND   ON.  305 


Husband  and  wife.  Paul's  expostulation. 

familiar  to  almost  every  mind.  Jehovah  is  plainly 
addressing  his  ancient  people,  and  charging  them 
abruptl}^  with  unfaithfulness  to  him.  Neverthe- 
less, he  avows  himself  solicitous  for  their  recovery  ; 
and  in  the  course  of  his  appeal  and  argument  he 
introduces  the  similitude  of  a  wedding  covenant, 
showing  that  he  has  claims  as  well  as  anxieties  ; 
he  is  a  /msband,  they  are  bound  to  him  as  a  wife  to 
her  lord. 

Once  this  figure  has  been  taken  up,  it  is  curious 
to  note  how  rapidly  and  extensively  it  hurries  into 
the  phraseology  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
alike.  We  find  it  in  one  of  the  epistles  drawn 
out  with  greatest  care.  Paul,  as  if  to  show  us 
that  such  forms  of  expression  Avere  not  merely 
Jewish  and  national,  uses  the  same  intense  illus- 
tration with  the  name  of  the  parties  ;  he  speaks 
"  concerning  Christ  and  the  Church  :"  admitting 
both  relations  to  be  a  mystery,  he  yet  claims  that 
in  each  case  illumination  is  flung  upon  the  one  re- 
lationship by  the  other  : 

"  Would  to  God  3'e  could  bear  with  me  a  little 
in  my  folly  !  And  indeed  bear  with  me.  For  I 
am  jealous  over  you  with  godly  jealousy  :  for  I 
have  espoused  you  to  one  husband,  that  I  may 
present  you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ.  But  I 
fear,  lest  by  any  means,  as  the  serpent  beguiled 
Eve  through  his  subtilty,  so  )'our  minds  should  be 
corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ." 

Such  language  may  seem  extravagant  ;  but 
really,  the  Christian  apostle    does  no  more  than 


3o6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Marriage  is  consent.  No  release  admissible. 

echo  and  repeat  the  promise  of  God  himself, 
spoken  by  one  of  the  ancient  prophets  : 

"  And  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  for  ever  ; 
yea,  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  in  righteousness, 
and  in  judgment,  and  in  lovingkindness,  and  in 
mercies.  I  will  even  betroth  thee  unto  me  in  faith- 
fulness :  and  thou  shalt  know  the  Lord." 

Accepting  these  forms  of  representation,  it  will 
not  be  difficult  to  give  an  answer  to  the  questions 
with  which  we  set  out  just  now.  The  soul  of 
every  professor  of  religion  is  married  to  Christ  its 
Saviour.  Here  are  the  two  elements  of  relation- 
ship :  the  internal  experience  and  the  external 
bond.  The  definition  admitted  under  our  laws  is 
— marriage  is  consent.  When,  therefore,  parties 
of  proper  age  and  intelligence  are  voluntarily 
married,  they  are  firmly  bound  to  each  other  as 
long  as  they  both  shall  live  ;  neither  of  them  has 
any  release  save  by  a  legal  process  which  assumes, 
proves,  and  punishes  crime. 

There  is  no  need  of  entering  upon  an  argument 
on  such  a  point.  I  feel  quite  certain  that  a  suffi- 
cient reply  to  this  inquiry  which  we  are  consider- 
ing will  be  exactly  what  it  would  be  if  it  were  put 
into  words  thus  :  What  shall  a  wife  do  who  is 
thoroughly  convinced  that  she  married  under  a 
mistake,  and  who  now  esteems  her  legal  relation- 
ship an  annoyance  and  a  burden  ?  Persons  of  can- 
dor would  say  in  answer  to  this  :  "  Why,  the 
woman  is  married  to  the  man  ;  that  is  the  end  of 
it.      If  she  has  lost  her  love  for  her  husband    she 


OFF   AND   ON.  307 


Marrying  in  haste.  No  change  in  God. 

must  not  also  lose  her  sense  of  duty,  or  her  sense 
of  shame  :  she  cannot  leave  him.  She  must  adjust 
her  purposes  to  her  lot.  She  swore  on  the  wed- 
ding-day that  she  did  love  him,  and  she  gave  con- 
sent before  the  altar.  She  also  swore  that  she 
would  live  and  die,  and  wanted  to  live  and  die, 
bearing  his  name.  Certainly,  she  cannot  retreat 
a  step  out  of  that  without  breaking  an  oath.  The 
likelihood  is,  she  will  learn  a  lesson  that  she  ought 
to  be  wise  enough  to  pass  on  to  her  children — 
that  they  do  not  marry  in  haste,  and  then  be  com- 
pelled, like  herself,  to  find  time  for  repentance  at 
their  sorrowful  leisure. 

But,  you  urge,  the  man  may  have  changed  since 
those  promises  were  made  ;  he  may  have  become 
unmanly  and  unworthy.  Still,  all  we  can  say  is — 
so  much  the  worse  for  her  ;  there  is  no  relief  at 
hand. 

But  now,  I  take  it  that  just  there  is  the  only 
point  at  which  this  figure  does  not  hold  in  its  pres- 
ent application.  It  is  not  a  possible  thing  that 
God,  as  an  object  of  love  and  desire  for  every 
human  soul,  should  ever  become  less  attractive 
and  less  worthy.  A  Christian,  who  has  professed 
to  love  him,  and  then  in  the  lapse  of  months  and 
years  has  ceased  so  to  do,  has  evidently  under- 
gone some  change  in  himself  ;  he  is  a  backslider, 
but  God  is  the  same. 

III.  Thus  we  reach  the  third  question,  indeed, 
the  main  question,  suggested  in  the  text  :  "  I  have 
put  off  my  coat  ;  how  shall  I  put  it  on  ?" 


308  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

How  put  on  the  coat  ?  It  must  be  put  on  again. 

Yes  indeed  :  that  is  the  question — "  How  shall 
I  put  it  on  ?"  For  there  can  be  no  release  from 
his  perplexities  to  any  one  who- feels  his  religious 
responsibilities  and  duties  to  be  a  burden,  except 
in  going  straight  back  to  the  love  which  made 
every  yoke  easy  and  every  burden  light.  I  have 
said  enough  already  to  render  this  assumption 
clear  and  legitimate — that  the  coat  must  go  on 
again. 

Shall  such  a  church-member  continue  to  attend 
services  as  usual  on  the  Lord's  Day  ?  Certainly  ; 
why  not  ?  Shall  he  lead  in  ordinary  meetings  for 
public  prayer  ?  Yes,  if  he  has  been  accustomed 
openly  to  do  so,  if  he  be  called  upon,  and  can  do 
it  to  edification.  Shall  he  persist  in  keeping  up 
his  family  altar?  No  sort  of  doubt  about  that. 
Shall  he  come  to  the  Lord's  Table  at  communion  ? 
That  is  clear,  too  ;  he  is  to  come  just  the  same  as 
ever.  So  of  each  duty  in  turn.  It  makes  no  dif- 
ference whatever  what  his  feelings  are.  He  is  to 
find  release  from  his  perplexities  by  a  return  and 
not  by  a  departure  :  he  must  not  make  a  derelic- 
tion at  one  point  apologize  for  a  dereliction  at 
another.  If  his  heart  is  chilled,  then  thrusting  off 
his  outward  profession  is  the  very  last  thing  to  do 
in  order  to  warm  it.  He  must  get  back  somehow, 
and  the  way  to  get  back  into  Christian  life  is  just 
to  turn  sharply  around  and  go  back. 

For  the  end  of  this  "  off  and  on"  religion  is 
simply — dcatJi.  I  do  not  know  any  pictures  of 
the   Scriptures  more  vivid  or  more  violent  than 


OFF  AND   ON.  309 


Ezekiel  and  Paul.  A  lost  professor. 


those  which  assert  the  utter  ruin  of  an  apostate, 
thus  : 

"  When  the  righteous  turneth  away  from  his 
righteousness,  and  committeth  iniquity,  and  doeth 
according  to  all  the  abominations  that  the  wicked 
man  doeth,  shall  he  live  ?  All  his  righteousness 
that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  mentioned  :  in  his 
trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed,  and  in  his  sin  that 
he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die."  "  For  it  is 
impossible  for  those  who  were  once  enlightened, 
and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were 
made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have 
tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to  re- 
new them  again  unto  repentance  ;  seeing  they 
crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and 
put  him  to- an  open  shame.  For  the  earth  which 
drinketh  in  the  rain  that  cometh  oft  upon  it,  and 
bringeth  forth  herbs  meet  for  them  by  whom  it  is 
dressed,  receiveth  blessing  from  God  :  but  that 
which  beareth  thorns  and  briers  is  rejected,  and  is 
nigh  unto  cursing  ;  whose  end  is  to  be  burned." 

The  very  conception  of  hell  as  a  place  of  retri- 
bution is  awfully  alarming.  But  the  worst  feat- 
ure of  it  all  is  found  in  the  thought  of  a  professor 
of  religion  finally  lost — a  church-member  in  among 
the  demons  who  will  forego  no  chance  to  taunt 
him  be3'ond  the  rest.  "  Oh,  yes  !  you  are  the 
fluent  man  who  used  to  make  such  nice  talks  ! 
You  recommended  religion  as  such  a  good  thing  ! 
Oh,  we  love  such  an  honest  hypocrite  as  you  have 


3IO  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  ruin  is  needless.  God  stands  pleading. 

shown  yourself  to  be  !     This  is  exactly  the  place 
for  you  !     Such  salt  never  loses  its  sweetness  for 


us 


Meantime  all  this  wreck  and  ruin  seems  so  need- 
less and  so  sad  !  Oftentimes  it  is  just  this  stub- 
born fidelity  to  duty  which,  persisted  in,  avails 
most  in  restoring  the  heart-life.  One  who  prays 
meekly  for  form's  sake  is,  at  least,  in  the  best  pos- 
ture for  praying-  for  love's  sake.  One  who  is  will- 
ing to  be  honest  in  confession  is  the  nearest  like 
one  who  is  getting  pardon  for  wrongs  he  is  con- 
fessing. Sometimes  the  gracious  Spirit  of  God 
makes  use  of  such  considerate  moods  of  mind  in 
renewing  his  help  ;  he  is  like  some  thoughtful  man 
who  tries  to  make  it  easy  for  his  friend  to  come 
back  after  a  long  estrangement  ;  and  his  kindness 
wins  more  than  ever.  The  worst  mistake  possible 
is  that  of  one  wildly  rushing  away  from  a  cove- 
nant. 

For  look — there  stands  God  waiting  to  be  gra- 
cious !  Oh,  the  picture  is  wonderful  in  that  verse 
I  quoted  awhile  ago  !  Like  some  magnanimous, 
affectionate  husband,  infinite  Love  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  dull  and  stony  Soul — Psyche  pleaded 
with  by  Amor — God  stands  kindly  entreating  : 
"  Surely,  as  a  wife  treacherously  departeth,  so 
have  ye  dealt  with  me  :  turn,  O  backsliding  chil- 
dren, saith  the  Lord  ;  for  I  am  married  unto  you." 


XXVII. 
THE  ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE. 

"  Be  thou  my  strong  rock  .  .  .  for  thou  art  my  rock." — 
Psalm  31  :  2,  3. 

By  his  generous  prowess  David  had  delivered 
the  city  of  Keilah  from  the  Philistines.  For  a 
little  while  he  was  permitted  to  find  sanctuary, 
and  catch  rest  within  its  walls.  But  his  indefati- 
gable pursuer,  Saul,  ever  on  the  alert  to  entrap 
him,  soon  discovered  his  temporary  retreat,  and 
so  David  knew  he  must  once  more  enter  upon  the 
wild  chases  of  his  venturous  life. 

But  before  he  went  out  into  new  exposures  he 
somehow  found  time  to  pen  a  new  psalm.  He  re- 
minded himself  of  his  former  history.  He  recalled 
a  series  of  deliverances  which  he  had  had  in  sea- 
sons of  equal  peril.  Hence,  when  he  puts  on  his 
armor  again,  he  takes  his  harp  also  in  hand.  If 
he  must  be  a  soldier,  he  can  nevertheless  sing. 
And  while  we,  in  our  New  Testament  age  of  the 
world,  have  no  heart  to  say  we  are  glad  that  this 
wonderful  man  suftered,  we  may  rejoice  that  out 
of  his  dangers  there  came  so  often  these  anthems 
of  acknowledgment  and  praise.  They  are  like 
some  jewels  which  a  bride  wears  on  her  fingers  ; 
she  will  not  deny  that  she  is  glad  to  receive  them, 


312  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

A  bride's  rings.  Off-look  at  Hebron. 

even  though  she  knows  that  there  was  a  wound  in 
some  living  creature  for  each  distinct  pearl. 

The  one  peculiarity  about  this  psalm  is  its  force- 
fulness  of  logic.  More  than  one  commentator  has 
called  our  attention  to  the  fact  of  David's  pressing 
God  all  the  time  with  his  "  fors  "  and  his  "  there- 
fores."  He  argues  like  a  polemic.  He  insists  on 
conclusions  issuing  out  from  premises.  He  lights 
his  helpful  torch  of  hope  from  the  old  camp-fires 
of  conflict.  "  Be  thou  my  rock,  for  thou  art  my 
rock."  He  writes  this  exquisite  song  while  his 
whole  heart  is  pitifully  mournful  in  its  lonely  de- 
pression ;  but  in  itself  it  is  one  of  the  most  exhil- 
arant  he  furnished  for  the  Psalter,  fairly  crowded 
with  thankfulness  and  joy. 

Why  does  David  talk  so  much  about  a  rock? 
You  remember  where,  at  the  time,  he  was  linger- 
ing. The  situation  he  was  in  was  singularly  for- 
tunate for  such  picturesque  meditations.  From 
the  elevated  outlook  all  around  Hebron,  off  from 
the  high  country  along  the  ridge,  he  could  quite 
possibly  see  the  precipitous  banks  of  that  awful 
ravine,  down  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  turbid 
rainfall  of  the  Kidron  forced  its  tortuous  way.  He 
could  distinguish  many  a  lonesome,  but  unfortu- 
nately familiar  spot  near  the  Dead  Sea.  That  thin 
line  of  emaciated  hills  had  become  a  home  sight 
with  him.  More  than  once,  with  the  half-mad  king 
on  his  track,  he  had  taken  shelter  in  the  craggy 
cliffs  of  Engedi.  It  was  his  grateful  recognition 
of  help  rendered  that  made  him  say  "  rock." 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE.  313 

Meary  vicissitudes.  Changeless  verities  of  divine  love. 


Now,  as  he  goes  forth  to  weary  vicissitudes 
again,  it  seems  perfectly  natural  for  him  to  think 
of  his  former  retreats.  And  if  at  any  time  he 
speaks  of  aid  from  Ahnighty  God,  we  should  ex- 
pect him  to  cast  the  forms  of  his  phraseology  into 
the  figures  of  his  experience,  reasoning  out  from 
nature  into  grace.  So  he  petitions  and  asserts  in 
the  same  breath  and  with  the  same  symbols  : 
"  Bow  down  thine  ear  to  me  ;  deliver  me  speed- 
ily :  be  thou  my  strong  rock,  for  a  house  of  de- 
fence to  save  me.  For  thou  art  my  rock  and 
my  fortress  ;  therefore  for  thy  name's  sake  lead 
me,  and  guide  me." 

I.  Of  course  the  very  earliest  and  best  thought 
we  can  catch,  in  so  swift  an  utterance,  is  concern- 
ing the  absolute  unchangeableness  of  God. 

If  our  Maker,  infinite  and  eternal  as  he  is,  has 
ever  helped  us  once,  we  may  confidently  expect 
him  to  help  us  again.  If  he  has  already  been  to  us 
a  rock  of  refuge,  we  may  reason  with  exact  logic 
that  he  will  be  a  rock  of  refuge  continually.  For 
he  has  no  frames  of  feeling  as  we  have.  The 
argument  of  experience  is  simply  unalterable  and 
irrefragable.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever. 

We  have  our  spiritual  elations  and  depressions  ; 
but,  really,  neither  of  them  have  anything  to  do 
with  the  changeless  verities  of  divine  love.  And 
no  safety  is  so  certain  for  an}'-  menaced  and  dis- 
tressed believer  as  that  of  the  soul  which  has  sur- 
rendered everything  to  Christ.     Our  foolish  diffi- 


314  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Children  in  dark  recesses.  Closer  intimacy  inside  the  rock. 

CLilty  lies  in  our  own  want  of  trust.  Most  of  us 
can  recall  some  childish  years  of  sport,  when  we 
were  wont  to  hide  ourselves  in  a  dark  recess, 
leaving  our  pursuers  standing  in  the  narrow  door, 
peering  into  the  shadows  after  us.  It  did  seem  as 
if  they  must  see  our  very  faces,  we  could  see  theirs 
so  perfectly.  And  we  found  it  impossible  to  keep 
quiet,  and  just  silently  trust  the  dusk  we  were  in. 

"  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time."  To  tell 
a  timid  Christian  that  he  must  hold  his  confidence 
implicitly  in  his  Saviour  seems  sometimes  little 
more  or  less  than  mockery.  For  we  insist  that 
we  ought  to  have  something  more  around  us  than 
an  impalpable  presence.  We  can  appreciate  our 
dangers  so  clearly  that  we  imagine  we  must  cer- 
tainly be  fully  exposed.  But  let  any  child  of  God 
once  pass  a  season  of  real  peril,  and  learn  in  de- 
lightful experience  how  he  has  been  watched  and 
at  last,  delivered  ;  then  his  cheerful  song  will  be 
like  David's  :  "  Be  thou  my  rock  .  .  .  for  thou  art 
my  rock." 

2.  Then  comes  another  thought  from  the  text, 
which  gives  a  fresh  delight  :  he  who  is  shut  up  to 
God  is  the  one  who  learns  most  of  God. 

The  moment  any  little  child  feels  real  safety  in 
the  presence  and  protection  of  its  parent,  after  a 
time  of  terror,  it  falls  instinctively  into  expressions 
of  affection.  It  begins  to  caress  the  hand  it  holds. 
And,  very  much  in  the  same  way,  the  filial  believer, 
finding  himself  safe  in  Christ,  is  moved  toward  in- 
timate communion.     He  loves  the  more,  the  more 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE.  315 

Paul's  ladder.  Patience,  experience,  hope. 

he  trusts.  "  Tribulation  worketh  patience  ;  and 
patience,  experience,"  He  wonders  how  he  could 
■ever  have  been  frightened  ;  he  will  not  again  ; 
*'  experience  worketh  hope." 

Meantime,  to  every  utterance  of  tenderness  the 
Holy  Spirit  responds.  A  voice  may  be  heard  in 
the  stillness  of  the  soul  like  that  of  the  Spouse  to 
the  Bride  in  the  Song  of  Songs  ;  indeed,  the  Sav- 
iour seems  to  come  near  to  seek  his  own  :  "  O 
my  dove,  that  art  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  in  the 
secret  places  of  the  stairs,  let  me  see  thy  counte- 
nance, let  me  hear  thy  voice  ;  for  sweet  is  thy 
voice,  and  thy  countenance  is  comely." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  at  all  that  every  true 
Christian  learns  of  Jesus  his  Redeemer  in  the  hours 
of  such  communion  more  than  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  Let  me  feel,  in  some  day  of  deep  de- 
pression, that  I  am  poor,  and  shall  fall  into  want  ; 
that  I  am  ill,  and  shall  never  be  well  again  ;  that 
I  am  maligned,  and  shall  never  be  able  to  make 
my  righteousness  appear  ;  or  that  my  temper  has 
got  the  better  of  me,  and  I  can  never  control 
it  ;  that  my  loose  tongue  has  spoken  reckless  idle- 
ness of  words,  and  I  shall  be  unable  to  put  on  its 
bridle  in  all  the  long  years  ;  no  matter  what  may 
be  my  trial  ;  let  me  be  borne  upon,  and  borne 
down,  till  I  am  alarmed,  desolate,  demoralized 
and  forlorn.  Then  let  me,  in  one  supreme  act  of 
trust,  with  a  mighty  and  masterful  faith,  call  upon 
God,  and  rest  in  him.  Let  me  creep  into  the 
shadow  of  the  rock.    Let  me  see  my  calamities  go 


3l6  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Hounds  rushing  by.  The  instinct  of  seeking. 

harmlessly  by,  like  rushing  hounds  in  full  pursuit, 
with  the  sight  and  the  scent  lost.  Now  I  know 
I  am  free  and  safe. 

In  the  mysterious  economy  of  redemption  these 
are  the  moments  chosen  by  the  Holy  Ghost  for 
his  most  striking  disclosures  of  truth  to  each  soul. 
Theology  is  learned  in  spiritual  conflict  far  better 
than  in  comfortable  peace.  The  deepest  experi- 
ences of  gospel  help  are  invariably  taught  in  war- 
fortresses.  Shut  up  to  God's  companionship,  we 
begin  to  strive  after  closer  communion  with  him. 
He  meets  us  more  than  half-way.  There  is  a  gen- 
uine palpable  experience  of  his  nearness  to  us. 
We  find  we  can  understand  things  we  considered 
inexplicable  before,  that  we  are  interested  in 
promises  we  used  to  deem  wearisome  and  dry. 
The  Bible  appears  like  a  new  revelation  to  a 
Christian  who  is  driven  into  some  narrowness  or 
darkness  with  God.  This  must  have  been  what 
old  Thomas  a  Kempis  meant  when  he  said  once 
so  simply  :  "  I  have  no  rest  except  in  a  nook  with 
the  Book." 

Furthermore  :  all  our  emotions  and  sensibilities 
are  awakened  to  a  fresh  instinct  of  seeking  after 
him  whom  our  soul  loves.  We  may  not  be  pre- 
cisely certain  where  he  is  going  to  be  found  near- 
est at  hand  ;  but  we  push  out  the  tendrils  of  our 
affection  in  each  direction — 

"  Like  plants  or  vines,  which  never  see  the  sun, 
But  dream  of  him,  and  guess  where  he  may  be, 
And  do  their  best  to  climb  and  get  to  him." 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE.  317 

Moist  and  gloomy  times.  God  is  managing  affairs. 


Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  moist  and  gloomy 
times  are  often  growing  and  fruit-bearing  times. 
Each  disciplinary  worry  of  life  constitutes  a  sort 
of  soul's  college.  There  is  a  marvelous  educat- 
ing power  to  be  found  in  overcast  skies.  Gifts 
and  graces  flourish  among  damp  shadows  as  they 
do  not  always  out  in  dry  sunshines.  And,  in- 
deed, we  ought  to  remember  that  this  is  really  a 
low  level  to  live  upon,  which  we  deem  oftentimes 
the  most  important — that  of  mere  activity  and 
conspicuous  duty-doing.  Advancement,  in  knowl- 
ledge  of  God  and  experience  of  grace,  is  much 
higher.  That  surely  was  an  excellent  counsel 
once  given  by  an  aged  divine  when  he  said  : 
"  One  of  the  most  unequivocal  signs  of  ripeness  in 
Christian  character  is  a  growing  fondness  for  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  as  distinguished  from  the 
mere  perfunctory  obedience  to  precepts."  It  is 
not  successes  a  true  believer  needs,  it  is  thoughts  ; 
it  is  not  opinions,  it  is  truth  ;  it  is  not  philosophy, 
it  is  revelation  ;  it  is  not  even  religion,  it  is  God- 
likeness  ;  it  is  not  achievement,  it  is  Christ  ! 

3.  Beside  these  two  lessons  suggested  in  the 
text,  there  is  another  :  seasons  of  uttermost  ap- 
parent peril  are  generally  the  safest. 

After  all,  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  recollect  that 
God  is  managing  the  universe,  even  when  the  sky 
is  full  of  thunder.  And  the  one  indispensable 
condition  of  repose  is  found  in  an  instant  surrender 
to  the  management  of  God.  He  seeks  no  counsel 
of  ours,  and  \vc  are  alwavs  verv  weak  and  foolish 


3l8  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

The  ended  voyage.  Noah  in  the  deluge. 

to  keep  offering  him  help.  When  the  sea-captain 
has  brought  the  ship  fairly  and  finely  into  the  haven 
we  have  generally  found  that  our  sleeping-chamber 
was  saved  with  the  rest  of  it,  and  we  were  in  a 
comfortable  condition,  unless  we  had  grown  ill 
through  anxiety. 

Here  among  these  verses  occurs  one  which 
seems  very  familiar  to  our  ears  :  "  Into  thine  hand 
I  commit  my  spirit  :  thou  hast  redeemed  me,  O 
Lord  God  of  truth. ' '  At  least  three  persons  in  Bible 
history  are  known  to  have  repeated  it  in  seasons 
of  utmost  extremity — David,  Stephen,  and  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  on  the  cross.  It  is  the  unequivocal 
language  of  uttermost  relinquishment  of  self-pres- 
ervation. Saul  flings  javelins  at  David.  The 
mad  populace  pelt  Stephen  with  missiles  of  stone. 
The  soldiers  drive  nails  through  the  limbs  of 
Christ.  Apparently  without  any  release  or  refuge, 
each  of  these  sufferers  in  his  extremity  exclaims 
that  he  puts  his  case  out  of  his  own  hands,  soul  and 
body.  With  one  vast  letting  go  of  personal  effort, 
they  fall  upon  the  everlasting  arms  underneath. 
In  the  supreme  moment  of  being  lost  they  are  safe. 

There  are  other  instances  like  these.  Think  of 
Noah  in  the  deluge.  A  very  slight  imagination 
would  draw  the  picture  of  him  at  the  instant 
when,  having  shut  him  in  the  ark,  the  Almighty 
sent  the  rains  and  rivers  pouring  around  and  under 
the  huge  vessel  with  its  awkward  freight.  Re- 
member those  human  beings  inside  with  the  dumb 
beasts  could  not  look  out  upon  the  hills  and  plains 


THE   ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE.  319 

Safe  on  Ararat.  Daniel,  Peter,  Jonah. 


to  see  what  was  going  on.  There  was  only  one 
window  in  the  structure  ;  that  was  overhead,  and 
opened  on  the  sky  straight  upward.  When  the 
wooden  world  began  to  writhe  and  creak  through 
all  its  seams  and  planks,  to  totter  and  sway  as  it 
rose  from  the  solid  earth  ;  when  they  felt  them- 
selves cut  loose  from  bearings  and  moorings,  and 
lifted  up,  hour  after  hour,  on  the  awful  swirls  of 
the  water  ;  it  might  possibly  be  that  the}^  grew 
solemn  and  thoughtful,  all  of  them,  in  the  extrem- 
ity of  their  admitted  exposure.  But  we  know 
now,  and  they  themselves  believed  then,  that  they 
were  the  only  secure  persons  in  the  whole  world. 
They  were  held  in  the  hollow  of  their  Father's 
hand.  God  shut  them  in  the  ark,  then  set  the 
ark  high  up  on  Ararat. 

Think  of  Daniel  :  there  was  no  spot  so  safe  for 
him  on  earth  as  was  that  den  of  lions  ;  not  an 
enemy  could  get  at  him  all  the  night  of  peace. 
Think  of  Simon  Peter  :  a  whole  platoon  of  sol- 
diers, and  the  four  walls  of  a  prison,  protected 
him  from  Herod  ;  he  was  absolutely  secure. 
Think  of  Jonah  :  how  utterly  impossible  it  was  to 
shipwreck  him  again  while  the  Lord  was  bring- 
ing him  ashore,  fathoms  under  the  waves.  It  is 
always  the  same  story  :  he  is  the  safest  of  us  all 
whom  the  Lord  cares  for.  When  one  is  driven 
into  the  rock  he  finds  God  is  himself  the  rock. 

4.  So  we  reach  our  final  lesson  :  our  duty  is  to 
urge  the  argument  of  experience  constantly  against 
the  onsets  of  the  devil's  distrust. 


320  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

"  The  palace  of  Christ."  Divine  interpositions  remembered. 

That  is,  we  must  keep  repeating  such  a  text  as 
this  :  "  Be  thou  my  strong  rock  .  .  .  for  thou  art 
my  rock."  This  settled  rest  of  a  soul  in  God  is 
what  Augustine  calls  "the  palace  of  Christ,  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  paradise  of  delight, 
the  standing  Sabbath  of  the  saints."  Nowhere 
else  can  any  believer  find  tranquillity  or  serene  re- 
pose. 

If,  instead  of  brooding  and  repining  over  sad 
prospects,  instead  of  imagining  pains  to  come,  in- 
stead of  foreseeing  and  predicting  dismay  and  dis- 
appointment, instead  of  always  looking  on  the 
dark  side,  we  would  only  count  up  our  mercies 
which  \vc  have  received,  and  argue  logically  from 
them  fresh  deliverances  sure  to  be  vouchsafed  by 
God  from  on  high,  we  should  be  happier  and  far 
more  useful.  There  has  been  no  man  or  woman 
living  in  this  world,  among  really  believing  peo- 
ple, whose  history  can  possibly  be  barren  of  divine 
interpositions.  Providence  and  grace  are  alike 
full  of  instances  of  God's  love.  Once  there  was 
sickness  in  our  home  ;  then  came  loss  ;  then  came 
abuse  or  misrepresentation  ;  we  seemed  just  going 
into  wreck  and  ruin.  Suddenly  a  hand  seemed 
actually  stretched  out  from  the  sky  overhead,  and 
all  was  right  and  clear  again.  Once  there  was 
fire,  and  then  there  was  flood  ;  but  strange  helps 
and  succors  showed  themselves  at  the  critical  in- 
stants, and  the  accidents  were  warded  off  marvel- 
ously.  Then  there  were  pestilences  in  the  air, 
and  awful  temptations  in  the  business  world,  and 


THE  ARGUMENT   OF   EXPERIENCE.  32 1 

The  text  a  fine  motto.  Cowper's  hymn. 

bereavements  in  the  family.     But  always,  always, 
God  showed  himself  our  strong  rock. 

Why  cannot  we  keep  saying-  so  ?  Is  there  any 
one  in  all  the  world  who  cannot  remember  some 
matchless  providence  of  his  Maker  which  molded, 
aided,  and  swayed  his  entire  career  ?  These  su- 
preme deliverances  it  is  our  duty  to  rehearse  over 
and  over  again  to  ourselves  and  to  our  neighbors. 
They  are  our  arguments.  Do  you  remember  that 
quaint  little  stanza  in  one  of  our  familiar  hymns, 
with  which  the  singer  rebukes  faint-hearted  and 
complaining  believers  for  their  doubts  and  misgiv- 
ings ?  He  seems  to  think  it  a  great  waste  of  time, 
and  a  tedious  use  of  profitless  words,  to  wail  forth 
our  cries,  as  if  we  had  a  case  against  God  : 

"  Were  half  the  breath  thus  vainly  spent 
To  heaven  in  supplication  sent, 
Our  cheerful  song  would  oftener  be, 
Hear  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  me  !" 

My  Christian  friends,  suffer  me  now,  in  closing 
the  sermon,  to  suggest  this  text  as  your  motto  of 
religious  life  to  meet  your  sudden  wants  and 
needs.  I  soberly  propose  to  you,  as  a  habitual 
repetition  of  prayer,  this  one  request  with  the  plea 
to  back  it  :  "Be  thou  my  strong  rock  .  .  .  lor 
thou  art  my  rock."  Ever}^  experience  in  your  his- 
tory hitherto  logically  bears  on  the  history  that  re- 
mains. Consider  under  this  simple  figure  each 
disclosure  of  divine  love  in  interposition.  Call  it 
your  "rock."     If  God  ever  gave  you  a  comfort 


322  SERMONS   IN   SONGS. 

Not  your  old  troubles.  But  your  old  mercies. 

in  sorrow,  a  relief  in  illness,  a  rescue  in  danger,  or 
a  help  in  feebleness,  think  it  over,  and  argue  from 
it  that  you  will  have  others  like  it.  Be  habitually 
recalling,  not  your  old  troubles,  but  your  old 
mercies.  Choose  out  of  your  remembrance  at  this 
moment,  now  as  we  separate,  your  most  striking 
and  illustrious  instance  of  God's  watchful  love 
that  was  ever  shown  to  you.  Let  it  rise  up  before 
your  imagination,  where  you  can  actually  seem  to 
see  it  as  David  could  see  the  great  rifted  rock  of 
Engedi  ;  and  then,  in  view  of  it  say  to  your  cove- 
nant-keeping Maker  :  "  Be  thou  my  strong  rock 
.  .  .  for  thou  art  my  rock. 


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